Love's Not Time's Fool
by Obsessed-Love
Summary: Every day could bring new adventures and becoming Captain America's personal assistant was certainly providing Erin Sinclaire with a whole host of them. Barely two weeks into her new job she meet's the Captain's best friend and find's herself trying to help two old soldier's navigate their way through modern society. BuckyxOC, Slight AU
1. The Introduction

Hello everyone! I have been on such a long hiatus from writing fanfiction that I am so nervous about this story. This is my first Marvel fanfiction, please let me know what you think and enjoy.  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything apart from my OC

* * *

As the inferno of fire slowly consumed everything in it's path, not for the first time that evening, Erin couldn't help but think 'why me?'

That thought got even louder as a man with a metal arm grabbed her tightly round the waist and threw them both out the 10th story window.

-Two weeks earlier-

"I have your dinner reservation at Le Caprice booked for 3pm today and I cancelled the drinks with Dreswick as requested sir"

Erin looked over her notepad ensuring she had done everything he had asked of her that morning.

Alexander Pierce barely looked up from his desk as he nodded in agreement "Very well Erin, that will be all"

Realising her dismissal Erin left his office, quietly closing the door behind her... like most days, he barely acknowledged she was there.

Erin had been Mr. Pierce's secretary for four months now after her predecessor went on maternity leave, allowing her to rank up on a semi permanent basis. At first she had been thrilled to be able to work so closely with such an important official, she was picturing emergency state meetings and classified knowledge.

That excitement was quickly unfounded. Whilst he was never rude to her, he had no interest in her as a person and treated her as the walking Google calendar she was but it could have always been worse.

She let out a long sigh as she returned to her own desk which was situated down the short corridor away from his double door, security locked, paranoid haven. Her cup of tea was still hot when she took her first sip, it was the only way she functioned in the morning. You can take the girl out of England but you can never take the English out the girl.

As Erin typed, stopping every now and then to sip her tea, she felt a sense of calm and purpose. She preferred having a task to focus on rather than having to call restaurants and re-arrange cocktail hours which seemed to take up more hours of her day than she ever thought it would.

As she wrote she heard the elevator doors open and someone gradually walk up to her desk; "One moment please" she politely said when the mysterious figure reached her desk, she wanted to finish the sentence she was writing.

She typed the last letter satisfied and looked up with a big smile "How can I he..." the words trailing from her lips unspoken.

Captain America looked back at her with an eyebrow slightly raised waiting for her to continue.

It was odd, they worked for the same company, they were in the same building, well when he wasn't away saving the world but they had never even crossed paths, until now.

She mentally slapped herself into professionalism. She put back on her genuine smile and started her sentence over.

"Captain Rogers, how can I help you?"

Seeing him in the flesh had really taken her by surprise, especially as he was now wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a brown leather jacket. If he wasn't 6ft2' and about 240lb of pure muscle, he would be your everyday handsome boy-next-door.

Captain Rogers quickly returned her smile, visibly relaxing "Hi, I need to see Secretary Pierce, has he got a moment?"

Erin reached for the buzzer next to her laptop, pressing it once before softly speaking to the mic "Mr. Pierce, Captain Rogers is here to see you"

After a moment of silence came the response "Send him in"

She stood up, moving round her desk to the corridor opening and smiled at him again "This way Captain"

They walked in comfortable silence as he followed her to Pierce's office, she swiped her key card at the door and waited for the green light to flash allowing her to open it.

She walked slightly through, giving the Captain space to enter as she introduced his presence and asking if either would like a refreshment. When they both declined, Erin silently excused herself, closing the door once again.

The Captain re-emerged around half an hour later, as he came up to her desk she turned her head to smile at him.

As he stopped to look at her he returned the smile "Thank you..." he waited for her name.

"My name is Erin, captain"

"Erin it was a pleasure to meet you" He responded with gentlemanly sincerity.

"Likewise" she returned kindly.

And with that he got in the elevator and nodded at her before the lift doors closed.

After the anomaly in her day Erin continued with her tasks, bidding Pierce goodbye as he went for lunch.

It's not that she found her job boring, working for the world's best intelligence agency was incredible in many ways, she often found herself lucky to be there at all.

Erin was 26 years old and did not consider herself spectacular in any way, her grades have always been average, she didn't have any extraordinary gifts or talents.

She had got where she was by growing up in the military, living around the world and working hard. She was fluent in English, German and French and had met the right kinda people growing up. That was it...she was lucky. Erin got a low level job in S.H.I.E.L.D at 22, passied her basic training, completed all the security checks and worked her arse off.

She just managed to fast track to a higher level position temporarily. In all honesty, she didn't really know where her life was heading or what she wanted to do. She was still figuring that part out.

Before she knew it the end of another day came when the clocked ticked over to 6pm, she gradually filed away her papers and tidied her desk.

As routine, she would always check on Pierce before she left to inform him him she was leaving. Essentially she just wanted to remind him him that he would have to rely on his Google calender until the next morning when she was back in.

She grabbed her handbag, placing the strap over her shoulder and made her way to his door before knocking lightly.

A gravelly voice answered, as it did every evening "Come in".

Erin poked her head round the door "I'm leaving for tonight sir, do you need anything before I go?"

To her surprise he looked up and motioned her with his hand "Please sit for a moment Erin, there is something I need to discuss with you"

A sudden feeling of worry overcame her as she walked in and closed the door, making her way across to his desk and sitting in the available chair.

As she sat there, waiting with her hands clasped tightly in her lap, she could clearly see the tiredness in his face.

Pierce looked up from his paperwork and gave her a polite smile before beginning "Now Erin, you have been a great help these last few months after Stephanie went on leave but I think it's time you go to a more suitable position" His tone was gentle but it did not stop the knot forming in her stomach.

She tried to keep her expression neutral "More suitable, sir?"

He leant back in the chair, relaxing his posture before simply stating "Yes, from now on, I am assigning you to be Captain Roger's personal assistant."

In that instance Erin really couldn't help her jaw slightly dropping with shock "Captain America sir? Why?" She knew better than to question his orders but it was out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Pierce's eyes narrowed slightly "Captain Rogers requires someone to help plan his day to day, his travel, his grocery shopping, his laundry if needs be. Like I said earlier, you have done a great job but I could use someone more experienced, more senior to help me with my work. The Captain is still adapting to every day modern society, he needs someone to help do that, I chose you for that task" He finished, eyeing her carefully to see her reaction.

She thought this over for a split second before responding "I would be honored, sir"

* * *

So there we go first chapter! Please let me know what you think, positive comments and constructive criticism all welcome.


	2. A Tender Curiosity

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews MadHatters1808 and AliceKate91, it's super encouraging! Gonna be honest guys this chapter is a bit of a filler but I'm still creating the story board. I'm hoping to have a much more action packed chapter next time. This story is gonna be a bit more of an AU then the regular timeline, Bucky will come into it earlier and a lot of the event's to do with him in Civil War won't be in it the same way but it'll still happen! Let me know what you think.

* * *

Erin had been mulling over her new job all night.

They say never meet your hero's because they will disappoint you and that was exactly what she was afraid of. He had been all smiles and kind eyes yesterday but meeting him on a one off at work is entirely different to being his personal assistant.

Would he be like Pierce? Nice enough but will just throw his schedule at her and briskly ask she organised his life?

As much as she tried, she couldn't picture him behaving that way. Ultimately Erin figured it wouldn't matter, kind or rude, she would do her job and she would do it amazingly well.

Erin had been told to go home that night and await her next instruction because being Captain Roger's PA was going to be a completely different ball game to Pierce. She would no longer sit at a desk and file reports, she would be wherever he needed her to be at any time, hell if he wanted a mocha at 3am all he had to do was call her and she would be there.

She woke up at 7am that morning to be on the safe side, she showered and dressed in a knee length beige pencil skirt with a tucked in plain black blouse.

As she brushed her teeth she couldn't help but look herself over in the mirror, if she was honest, she looked exhausted.

Erin had dyed red hair that fell level with her bust, a full fringe at the front and layers on the top, her skin was paler than most peoples; an almost porcelain shade but she wouldn't call it flawless. She had various moles and freckles dot their way across her body and various scars from her tomboy years of dirt biking and playing outside. Her figure was a full one, she would be considered the definition of an hour-glass shape. Though for what she had in bust she lacked for in height stopping at a mere 5ft2'.

Overall she considered herself fairly attractive however her most defining and noticeable feature were her eyes. They were varying shades of blue depending on what day it was. Sometimes they were as blue as the sky on a summer day and others they were more like the sea on a stormy night. She had absolutely no idea why they were never just one shade but she loved that about herself.

After she put her make up on and dried her hair, she made a cup of tea and sat at the little round table in her kitchen. She lived on her own and had done so for about a year now after her old boyfriend decided one day he was just tired of her, packed up his stuff and left. She was better off on her own she figured.

Erin shook herself out of her daydream and checked her phone. Still nothing. No missed calls or messages from anyone.

This had been the first time in weeks, probably months that she had nothing to do. Her flat was clean, her clothes washed, emails read, she didn't need to be at work or meet up with a friend. She was just waiting.

So she settled down with a book, an old favourite of hers; The Great Gatsby.

Literature was one of her greatest joys in life, the way each new story filled her head with beautiful images and fantasy worlds. Every single time she read it she found herself picturing one of Gatsby's zealous parties, talking philosophy with Nick and dancing away with Daisy while the band played swing music.

She couldn't help but think about Captain Rogers while she read. He was 7 when this book was published in the middle of the roaring 20's. It was actually absolutely insane if she really considered the whole situation, he was a living, breathing national hero who was actually 90 year old and had kicked the shit out of Nazi's.

Erin would have been lying through her teeth if she said she didn't want to ask the Captain a million and one questions about the War and the 1940's. But she knew she couldn't just casually ask over breakfast how it was to actually fight crazy German scientists.

She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her at the sheer craziness of it all.

At that moment her phone started buzzing away and when she looked at the screen it was an unknown number. She felt her heart give a jolt, these must be her orders from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Erin took a deep breath and pressed the green accept button "Hello, Erin Sinclaire"

She gave a sharp intake of breath as the deep male voice answered "Good morning Erin, this is Steve Rogers, I..uh..I hope you don't mind me calling your number." She heard his hesitation before he continued "Someone at S.H.I.E.L.D sent me your contact details" as though he needed to explain why he was calling her.

She smiled slightly "Good morning Captain Rogers. It's fine, I just wasn't expecting it to be yourself to call me, how can I help?" she queried.

If he was calling her then he probably needed assistance with something "Well I wasn't sure if texting was the standard thing nowadays...it seems a bit too informal for my liking" She could sense his smile on the other end of the line causing her to grin like an idiot.

"Honestly contact me however way you prefer, you could send me a messenger pigeon if you wanted too" This made him chuckle heartily.

Erin cradled the phone as she put away her book on the coffee table enjoying the sound of his laughter.

She waited for him to continue "Oh shoot, well I'll bare that in mind for next time. I was calling to ask if you wanted to meet for coffee and get to know each other?"

This definitely took her by surprise, she raised an eyebrow that he couldn't see as she weighed this idea up. Did he mean as a date?

As if he read her mind he rushed out his next words "I don't mean anything funny by it, just now we're going to be working together quite a lot, I thought it would be good to know more about each other" his uncertain tone made her melt inside.

She quickly reassured him "That would be great! When do you want to go?"

"I'm free right now if you are?"

"Well Captain Roger's if you don't need me to schedule any lunch appointments for you then I'm free as a bird" This earned her another chuckle.

"Great, I hope you don't mind but work gave me your address. I'll come pick you up in 20 minutes?"

Erin nodded to herself as she answered "Of course, I'll wait outside my apartment, see you soon"

"See you then, Erin" and with that he ended the call.

This was definitely a strange turn of events but a most wondrous one.

She ran to her room to reapply her make-up, not that she was trying to look pretty for him but he didn't need to see her bare faced just yet...first impressions count for a lot.

She applied the last stroke of highlighter and went to grab her bag. She checked she had her purse, car keys and other various pieces before she put on a light Parker jacket, pulled on her black, ankle high Doc Martens and went downstairs to the front of the building.

In many ways Erin had quite an alternative style but she showed this very subtly in her day to day life. The Doc Martins were one of them and her hair was the other. Despite it being red, it wasn't a bright red, it was more of a faded red that was only noticeable up close.

She stood outside in the light Autumn air waiting for a company car to come by but the last thing she was expecting was a pristine old fashioned motorcycle to pull up with the Captain sat on it.

The face-splitting smile came out before she could stop it. He was wearing dark denim jeans again, with a navy t-shirt and that leather brown jacket he seemed to love. He smiled at her as he stopped and settled his feet on the ground.

"Hey Erin!" He said enthusiastically over the roar of the engine, he turned his body slightly to the back of the bike and unbuckled a black, head cover helmet. She walked up to the bike and grabbed the helmet he held out for her "Good morning Captain, sweet ride" she grinned at him in excitement.

At the compliment he smiled a bit more, showing the dimples on his cheeks "I hope you don't mind, I prefer a bike to a car" his voice was incredibly thoughtful as though he genuinely was worried she'd hate the bike and it warmed her heart immensely he cared at all what she thought.

In response she put the helmet on and swung her leg round the other side of the back settling herself on the seat behind him and putting t her hands around his waist. For a first meeting, this felt pretty intimate but it was comfortable, like they had been doing this for years.

"I'm ready whenever you are Captain" She felt him move into position.

"Hold on!"

30 minutes later they walked into a little coffee shop that was situated down a hidden alleyway in Brooklyn. As they walked in, the smell of strong coffee and pastries filled the air and Erin's mouth watered slightly, she hadn't had breakfast this morning.

The ride had been exhilarating as the Captain filtered in and out of traffic with ease, going so fast that everything around them had been a blur but at no point was she worried. He was an Avenger, he knew what he was doing.

The Captain led the way to a small booth near the back and sat down, Erin slipped into the seat opposite him as a waitress came by and placed some menu's in front of them. To her credit, the waitress didn't bat an eyelid at the Captain being there and reeled off the specialty coffee's of the month and walked away.

As he looked over the menu he quietly commented "I come here a lot"

She nodded in his direction "Yeah I gathered"

He put the menu down and smiled bashfully "What gave it away?"

"Well firstly you went straight for this table without even looking around, secondly the waitress acted like she had an Avenger in here every other week, so I presumed that might actually be the case."

He blushed slightly as she gave him a humorous look "Yeah I usually come in once a week, it's quiet and I can just enjoy a good coffee" He replied.

Before Erin could say anything else the waitress came over and took their order, she decided to treat herself and ordered the salted caramel latte and some mini pasties meanwhile the Captain ordered a strong white coffee and a blueberry muffin.

With nothing else to distract them Erin suddenly felt quite shy. At the end of the day he was her superior and despite how friendly he had been all morning she wanted this meet up to go really well.

The Captain cleared his throat before talking again "I hope you don't mind this being so informal, I'm not 100% sure what you being my PA involves."

Erin smiled thoughtfully "Well Pierce told me you needed some help with your day to day stuff like shopping and technology?"

"Yeah" He nodded slowly "That day I met you and I went to see him, it was actually about a mission in Ukraine I had just returned from. When we got talking about being back at home I casually mentioned I had no food in my fridge and my washing needed doing. The notion that someone else wasn't doing it for me just baffled him but I told him I was fine to do it myself. I've done these things my whole life, they make me feel normal"

The Captain was focusing on her intently as he spoke, she could only nod, completely absorbed in his words.

"But when I mentioned I don't know how to send an email, that was it, he insisted I have some help" He groaned as he said it.

Erin giggled slightly catching the Captain by surprise "I promise I'm not that bad Captain Rogers"

He blushed and shook his head slightly with a smile when he realised what he had said "What I meant to say was, I'm not used to having anyone help me eith anything at home.. It will take some getting used to. I don't know how to even going about getting an assistant so I asked him to help hire one for me"

She snorted slightly "I suppose that was the perfect opening for him to get rid of me"

"Actually that might be my fault, I asked for a personal assistant that was as nice as his" The Captain looked embarrassed admitting this to her.

This comment caused Erin's cheeks to burn red and focus intently on her hands, she was extremely pleased at what he said but she didn't know how to react.

She was saved by the bell as the coffee's and pastries were put on the table, Erin quickly stirred her coffee and ate some of the cream off the top with her spoon.

After sipping her coffee thoughtfully for a few minutes, she looked at up at the Captain "I'm really glad you thought that about me and I was so happy when he offered me the job Captain Rogers. I did nothing but rearrange cocktail hours and plan his dinners. Most days he barely looked at me and I was getting really tired of the same old routine." She admitted truthfully to him, not taking her eyes off his.

He nodded in sympathy before pausing "Please just call me Steve" Once again he caught her out with his sincerity.

She couldn't stop the smile that lit up her face "Thank you, Steve."

The conversation flowed naturally from that point on, they both spoke about their families, where they had been, what they had achieved. Most of Steve's life was public knowledge but it was still nice to hear it from himself. She asked him what he wanted her to do as his PA, looking slightly embarrassed he said he needed help setting up his email out and not wanting to make him feel more out the loop, she simply nodded saying she would do it later today.

"Being Avenger is a busy job, most times I come back and the apartment is empty, there's no food in the fridge, my clothes all need washing and it usually takes me a long time to find the energy to do it" He shrugged looking at the muffin he was picking at.

Erin understood this, she was good at sorting other peoples lives out but organising her own seemed to be the most daunting task possible.

She replied in a playful tone "Well if you are on a mission, just message me on your way back and I'll make sure there's fresh coffee brewing in your kitchen and a stew on the stove"

Steve quickly cottoned onto her joke "You're just the best house wife ever" he quipped.

This made Erin laugh, not just laugh but really belly laugh making Steve look immensely proud of his joke.

Later that evening, after they had talked some more and he dropped her off home, Erin felt this intense bubble in her chest that could only be described as some of the most genuine happiness and excitement she felt in a long time. Steve was just as nice as everyone thought he was, from his mannerisms to his attitude he was the nicest guy around and now he was her boss.

She realised after thinking over their conversation in the coffee house, was that all he really needed was a companion that wasn't an Avenger. He needed someone who lived a normal life to help him adjust to the 21st Century, the Avenger's could help him save the world all the live long day but he needed someone like Erin to help with his life outside of being a soldier.

Over the next few days not a lot happened, she didn't have to go into the office because he wasn't there most of the time so she stayed at home, reading, cleaning and waiting for Steve to message her when she was needed. The last message she got from him was two days ago at 4am telling her he was going away on a mission but would be back soon.

On the 4th day of pottering around her flat, her phone pinged at 9pm, she was in her pj's, sipping some tea as she unlocked the phone to the simple message;

 **'En route to apartment, long mission. Will be home in three hours.**

 **-S'**

She knew it was time for her to make good on her promise, Erin quickly got changed into some dark skinny jeans, a long knit black jumper and prepped a bag with some food to prepare a hot meal and some of the best coffee grounds she could find in New York.

Once she had everything she needed, she jumped into her little Fiat 500 and drove to his place, about an hour away in Brooklyn. He had given her all his contact details including his address when they went for coffee and had sent a spare key for his place to her apartment. She was touched he was putting so much trust in her but she also knew there was always security monitoring his place if she were to suddenly decide to invite all of the evil geniuses to his place for a soireè.

She didn't meet too much traffic considering it was a Friday night, she pulled up to the apartment block and parked up. She got all her bags together and made her way to the front double oaks doors, entering the code he gave her into the keypad.

It beeped green, she trekked up to the fourth floor, lugging her heavy rucksack on her left shoulder, her laptop bag on her right and finally made it to his apartment after what felt like the longest stairs in history.

She let herself in with the key and was immediately greeted with the smell of soap & sandalwood. She closed the door gently behind her and made her way to the kitchen. As she walked down the corridor there were a couple of old photos hanging on the wall, she peered closely at one, it was a black & white photo featuring the howling commandos led by the Captain in what seemed to be a Forest. She smiled at the picture, it probably meant a lot to Steve to still have these.

The corridor led into an open kitchen which was connected to a large sitting room, it was a nice but fairly basic apartment. As she glanced around she could see very few personal possessions and he didn't have a TV which shouldn't have surprised her. There was another short corridor off from the sitting room which she presumed led to his bedroom and the bathroom Steve was very clean and anand extremely tidy when it came to his apartment, she'd have to keep it that way.

Erin set herself up the kitchen and began making a meat pie following the same recipe her mum used to make back in England. She found all the kitchen equipment she could ever need and more, she was confident he probably never used most of the stuff...S.H.I.E.L.D most likely set the entire apartment up for him

She began chopping up carrot, onion and potato before melting some butter in a pan, she added the veg and diced beef followed by some beef stock then she put the lid on and left it to simmer.

As the kitchen filled up with the smell of cooking, she checked her phone, it read 10:45pm, she had about an hour until he was home. She opened some of the windows, put his record player on and filled the coffee pot with fresh beans.

She made herself a cup of tea and sipped it while listening to the crooning of Frank Sinatra throughout the apartment. She put down the tea and went to roll out the ready made pastry she left in the fridge to finish off the pie, even putting a little pastry flower on the top before glazing it with egg and putting it in the oven for half an hour.

The door opened, Erin froze in place, her cup half way to her mouth, he wasn't supposed to be home for at least another half hour?

"Erin? Is that you?" Steve's equally cautious voice sounded throughout the apartment and she instantly relaxed

"Yeah, Steve I'm just in the kitchen" she called out.

He rounded the corner into room, he was still in his Captain America uniform but it was dirty. His face was covered in scratches and he had a little blood coming from his temple but otherwise he just looked tired.

Steve smiled at her, she looked perfectly in place, sitting at his table drinking tea, it was nice to not come home to an empty apartment "Something smells great" he said, unclipping his helmet and resting his shield against the counter.

She got up and put the coffee machine on "I'm making a meat pie, I wasn't expecting you back so early, it'll be another 20 minutes" she waiting for the coffee to brew.

He sat at the kitchen table letting out a heavy sigh "I can't wait, I'm starving"

Erin poured the coffee, mixed in two sugars, milk and set it in front of him, she sat opposite and took a sip of her tea "How was the mission?" She wasn't sure how he would react to her question's or even if she should ask but she couldn't pretend like he hadn't just been to a war zone.

"It was...okay." His face twisted in uncertainty, taking a long drink from his cup "Oh man, I needed that." He leaned back heavily in his chair, relaxing his shoulders before continuing "We infiltrated a, originally believed to be empty, Hydra base to scout out any information...well it wasn't empty" his tone was frustrated.

She didn't really know what else to say apart from "Are you okay?" her voiced lace with concern and worry.

He looked up from his cup at her, her concern taking him by surprise "I will be, after I wash all this Hydra off me" he smiled again when Erin let out a small laugh.

The oven was letting out a pleasant glow, the smell of food was amazing, his music played in the background and he was drinking some of the finest coffee he had had in a while, he could definitely get used to her being around.

He got up after draining the last of the mug "I'm gonna go for a quick shower...I..uh..." he stopped mid-sentence, Erin patiently waited for him to continue, he wasn't used to be looked after, that much was obvious.

Steve took in a deep breath, folding his arms and looking her in the eyes;

"Thank you for coming round, I know you said you would but I still appreciate it" he looked so awkward but he radiated sincerity.

Erin smiled, trying to stop herself grinning "Don't be silly, go for a shower soldier and dinner will be ready when you get out"

Steve's eyes widened at the prospect of food, he nodded gratefully before going off for his shower, she shortly heard the bathroom door lock and the shower turn on.

Her life had become so odd recently, this was her first evening on call but it was genuinely like looking after her best friend rather than her boss.

Erin ended up falling asleep on the sofa, after they ate the pie she made (an incredible dinner according to Steve), they listened to some music and talked about this and that until she fell asleep. Steve put a blanket around her, looking at her soft face as she breathed deeply, he knew she was paid to do what she does but he could see she was an extremely kind person, She cared about what he had to say, she bought him good coffee and made food from scratch, none of that was in her job description. He made sure she was comfortable before going to get some much needed rest himself.

He was lucky to have met Erin Sinclaire.

* * *

Thanks everyone for reading, always happy to receive criticism and praise. Review and follow :)


	3. Nobody's Perfect

Hello everyone! I am sorry it has taken so long to update, I work full time and don't sometimes manage to write as much as a I want too. A massive thank you to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed. A lot of love to MadHatter1808 and AliceKate91 for being great fans! I'm always happy for reviews, pointers and questions, I often answer questions privately so if you don't see a reply here to a review question it's because I PM them.

Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

"You have never seen 'Some like it Hot'?!" Erin was staring at the Captain with a mixture of incredulity and annoyance on her face, her hands on her hips stood in front of his television she had bought last week...and the DVD player, all for his education of course.

Steve held his hands up in defense "Cut me a little slack, I had been frozen in the ocean for 18 years when it came out. I've had like 70 year's of movies to catch up on, you've already made watch Star Wars, what more do you want from me?!" He huffed at her.

They continued staring each other out until Erin finally cracked with laughter causing them both to bend over in hysterics like they ended up doing most nights now. After his last mission, he had been in and out of the country like a yo-yo on various jobs for S.H.I.E.L.D meaning she had been coming over more to help him, even when he was at home she was there nearly every night making a nice dinner and helping him with other bits and pieces.

Steve had already told her that she didn't have to cook when he wasn't gone but the fact he could only pretty much boil potatoes and fry meat meant Erin preferred coming over and cooking proper dinners. She had grown to care for him a lot in a short space of time, he was sweet, funny and kind, truly one of the good guys.

This lead into the present where once again they were arguing about what film to watch with Erin ending the argument by putting 'Some like it Hot' into the DVD player and sitting snugly into the sofa with a bowl of popcorn between both of them.

As they waited for the advert's to pass by, Steve grabbed a handful of pop corn, looking at Erin as he ate "So what else you been doing today apart from taking over my apartment?" the smile evident in his eyes.

She scoffed before leaning her head back into the sofa and turning his way "You mean, cleaning, cooking and generally being better than a wife would ever be?" her eyes raised with the smirk that spread across her lips.

"Well yeah, surely you have been more useful than that?" Steve anticipated the punch his arm as Erin shrieked with indignation, he grinned at her with his cheeky boyish smile, she was so easy to wind up.

"Coming from Mister-I-can-barely-write-an-email!" She shot back at him.

"It's really hard! And I still do not like the address you set up for me" He groaned into his hands.

Erin snickered at her own sense of humour "What's wrong with 'Goldenboy1918 ?!'"

His response to throw a pillow right into her face, it hit her with an umph but it didn't slow down the belly laughter coming out from her.

"I mean..." tears were streaming from her eyes now "I just cannot wait until you have to email Black Widow or even better Tony Stark with that bad boy" she was clutching her sides, the idea of him having to email top secret mission stuff to Tony Stark via that was just priceless.

Steve rolled his eyes in response but couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, he turned his attention back to the screen as the film started, he couldn't help but love an old fashioned film even it was slightly after his time, so to speak.

Erin calmed down and grabbed a handful of popcorn as she became absorbed too, they sat in comfortable silence as they watched the police storm the club and the two musicians escaped.

"Ya know, I'm pretty glad I missed prohibition" Steve quipped as they watched the commotion.

"I didn't take you for much of a drinker if I'm honest"

"I'm not really, I mean I can't get drunk now because of the serum but I like a good whisky sometimes"

Now this Erin was not expecting raising an eyebrow as she looked over to him "You mean you can't get drunk as in you've tried to or is this what you have been told?"

"Put it this way, I have drank a whole bottle of whisky and not felt a thing" His reply wasn't sad, it was more thoughtful.

Erin stood up and went over to the kitchen, she dipped into the cupboard next to the sink, grabbed two glasses, putting two chunks of ice in each glass from the freezer and came back to the sofa placing the good's on the table.

Steve's eyes opened at the bottle of Jameson's whisky "Since when has that been here?" he questioned her narrowing his eyes.

Erin unscrewed the bottle, pouring him half a glass and herself two fingers worth "Sometimes I like a nice glass on an evening when I'm waiting for you to come home"

The way she referred to his place as home struck a chord with Steve, she didn't seem to notice but it meant a lot to him.

He took the glass from her out held hand as she grabbed her own, she turned round to him just before she clinked their glasses together she asked "You don't have anything to do tomorrow do you?"

Steve laughed "Well I doubt I'll get drunk off this but no I don't" he clinked their glasses together again and they both took a swig, the burning sensation running warmly down his throat.

Erin shook her head as she swallowed her sip and let out a small 'woo' as the sensation also hitting her pleasantly.

She focused on her glass "Steve if you think this is it, you are mistaken. I'm English with Irish ancestry just like you, this is only the start" she grinned at him with a wicked look in her eye.

The Captain was wary at the face she pulled before sighing "Oh boy..."

-Three hours later-

"-SO then the next morning, he decided he'd better make amends and called home. 'What took you so long to answer?' he asked. 'I was in bed' she replied. 'What were you doing in bed this late?' 'Getting a second opinion'" Steve laughed raucously at her joke, Erin laughed just as hard, they were on their third bottle of whisky.

Erin was pretty tipsy but had been stopping for water and noodles in between, Steve for the first time in his life was beginning to feel the affects of alcohol, it hummed through his body in a pleasant way, he was feeling very relaxed at this moment.

They had finished 'Some like it Hot' and had now moved onto 'Chicago', it was a modern film based in 1920's Chicago and Erin adored it.

She couldn't help but be caught up in the music, singing a long with the film "Come on baby, we're gonna paint the town and ALL THAT JAZZ!" she sung as she shook her hands in time with the music. While Erin was always lovely, Steve loved seeing her having so much fun. He watched the screen, his eyes following the beautiful dames dancing in their dresses, singing music from his era.

"Bucky would have probably drooled himself unconscious if he could see this" The word's were out of his mouth before he could stop them, his mind would often drift to Bucky but he had never spoke to anyone about him before now.

Erin knew all about Bucky, she had done her research when she became his PA but it was clearly a personal matter, it was none of her business but if he wanted to talk about it then she would happily oblige.

"Was he a ladies man, Bucky?" She asked gently, not wanting to probe more than he was comfortable with, taking a small sip from her glass.

Steve looked at his glass, a smile lighting up his face as he spoke "That's one way to describe it, he was tall, handsome and could talk a salesmen into selling over his business"

"He sound's like quite a catch" Erin mused.

"You wouldn't stand a chance if he looked at you with his big brown eyes, the smirk and army uniform, it used to drive the dames crazy" Steve chucked at the memory.

"Hmm, well I'm not like every kinda 'dame' as you would call it, I would probably put up more a fight" She joked, leaning against the sofa, her legs tucked under her as she drank her whisky, noting the bottle was nearly empty.

Steve took a big drink of his glass, draining the last of it "It would have driven him crazy, a beautiful girl like yourself resisting him? He would have stopped at nothing to win your affections"

She blushed at the offhand compliment, grinning at the use of his old lingo "To be honest Steve, I'm not looking for anyone to...win my affections.. as you say" with that she stood up, walking to the kitchen to route for more alcohol.

"I miss him so much" she heard his voice drift from the living room, it was sad and quiet.

It broke her heart to hear him sound so lost so she did the only thing she could think of and walk back to the sofa where Steve sat looking into the dregs of his glass, take the glass out of his hand and wrap herself in a massive bear hug around the Captain. Well as much of herself as she could wrap around, he was huge even sat down his head was level with her neck.

She was stood with her legs against his, leaning down with her arms wrapped around his neck, just holding him. It only took a brief pause until she could feel his arms wrap around her waist, melting into the hug she was giving.

Erin whispered quietly into his shoulder "I bet you miss him with everything you are but he would be so proud of the amazing guy you are today Steve" it was an extremely intimate moment but one she knew he needed, he nodded his head into her neck, not daring himself to speak for fear of crying in front of her.

Later on in life, Erin would always look back at this moment as the moment her and Steve cemented their friendship for life.

The rest of the evening passed by with Steve telling hilarious stories about him, Bucky and the royal commandos. He even brought out a couple of pictures he had of them together when they were in the War. He told her he didn't have any before then because they couldn't afford them but he used to draw them together.

"Can I see the drawing's?" Erin asked earnestly, she wanted to see a glimpse of Steve's youth rather than just hear about it.

Steve smiled shyly, his dimples showing in his grin as he looked anywhere else but at her "I have them somewhere but maybe not just yet..I'll get them out for you one day" he promised her with another shy grin.

* * *

-Two days later-

Steve and Erin sat in the black Chrysler as it drove through the high way into the center of New York or more specifically to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. Steve was called to a mission debrief early that morning, he called Erin straight after and asked she come with him, he trusted her judgement and in the short time they had become such fast friends he wanted her to be involved in whatever Director Fury threw his way.

They sat in comfortable silence as they pulled into the underground garage of the building, as they stopped two servicemen opened the car doors. Erin stepped out smoothing the bottom of her dark green business dress, it was sleeveless and hugged her figure but not in an obscene way, she had paired it with some black tights and dark green short heels. She had put regular make up on her face, her hair was left to hang loose, she fiddled with her bracelet as Steve spoke with Agent Sitwell who had met them from the car. Steve was dressed in a fitting white shirt, dark blue jeans and his usual brown leather jacket, he didn't tend to wear a lot else than what he was comfortable with but he always looked extremely smart in whatever he wore.

"Erin, you ready?" His voice brought her out of her daydream, she snapped her head up and met his eyes with a smile.

"Of course"

When she was in S.H.I.E.L.D she behaved in the most professional way possible, she never wanted anyone else than Steve to think of her as otherwise and he was different, he was her friend.

They followed Agent Sitwell into the elevator, feeling the motion of it going up, they stood politely with their hands all clasped to the front, Steve and the Agent quietly discussed aspects of the mission, from what she gathered the Avengers were to go out to Russia on a rescue mission of a high up government member. Erin didn't like to eavesdrop too much, she knew Steve would tell her what he could later on. They reached the 10th floor in no time and left the elevator.

Agents and personal were everywhere, all carrying files, going to different places, stopping for conversation, they had come into an open space of high tech computer terminals with a huge screen taking up one section of the wall with many different video links and Intel flashing up everywhere. After she had become his personal assistant, Steve made sure her clearance was heightened to this level, it sort of blew her away if she was honest with herself.

Before Erin could take another step, Agent Sitwell turned round to her, his face always one of serious consideration "Now Miss Sinclaire could you please go to the Archive room and find this file for us" he handed her what seemed to be a phone but on closer inspection it was a thin piece of touch glass, on the top was a number and a few letter's which she assumed was the file number.

Steve looked between them both and she could see his protest's form on his lips but she smiled at the Agent "Yes, not a problem."

He did not return her smile "When you have found it, just return back here and you will be directed to the meeting room. Just go back down that corridor, make a left and it is the third door on the right"

Erin nodded, locking eyes with Steve giving him another small smile before turning around and making her way to the archive room. It didn't take her long until she reached the door, it said in simple black writing 'ARCHIVE' on the front, she noticed the card access and hoped they didn't forget to give her clearance to access it.

As she pressed her pass against the reader she breathed a sigh of relief as it turned green, letting her push the door open and enter.

The room was very vast but well lit with rows and rows of boxes held in neat order on metal stands all the way across to each corner, next to the door was a small computer terminal, she looked at the little screen in her hand and put the file number into the terminal. She heard a light click and turned round to see a light off in the far corner had turned a green 'how clever' Erin couldn't help but think, it saved her the dreaded paper hunting she was expecting.

She made her way over to the green light, breathing in her favourite smell of old paper, it reminded her of old book's she would buy at a charity shop and then read with a hot cup of tea, becoming enamored in the world written between the pages.

When she walked into the circle of the light, it turned back to white instead of green, she looked at the boxes in the row she was stood opposite, noting each different number and letter, it seemed that each box had a varying number in no order and after pulling the box with the number to the file code she had been given, she realised that's when the letter's came in. If you did not have the exact code, she figured it would be very difficult to find whatever you were looking for in here.

She found the file in record time, carefully picking it out between the other files putting the top back on the box and pushing it back into place. Erin looked at the front of the innocent file, it was stamped with 'TOP SECRET' but other than that it gave nothing away. She hadn't been told she COULDN'T look at it so she started to open the file to peek at it's contents.

That's when the whole room turned a dark red colour, the lights all changing colour at the same time before a siren vibrated through the whole building, the speakers in the corners of the room coming to life 'EMERGENCY LOCK DOWN IN PROGRESS, ALL NON-SECURITY PERSONAL EVACUATE THE BUILDING'.

Damn, were they that fussy about a file?

Erin knew that wasn't why it had gone off but it was the only thing slowing her beating heart down. She gripped the file tightly against her chest with one arm and ran toward's the door, she scanned her card waiting for it to open, to make her way back to Steve.

But it wouldn't budge, the accesser flashed with 'LOCKDOWN' and she realised she was trapped, she didn't have her mobile with her, this was left in the car for security purposes so she couldn't even try to call anyone. Erin was trapped in the archive room.

She tried not to panic, all her S.H.I.E.L.D training flooding her mind in one go, she knew she could fight her own battle but she also knew she wasn't armed, she had no way of contacting anyone and she had no clue what was going on. The far side of the wall was made of glass window panels, she knew she would never break through them, they were designed to withstand stinger missiles but at least she could see out of them. As well as being incredibly strong, they were tinted from the outside because well, duh, it was a spy agency so she couldn't grab anyone's attention from the inside.

Erin quickly walked to the windows still clutching the file against her chest, looking into the street below, this side of the building faced a construction site but she could still see hundred's of people coming out of the building like ant's being smoked from their nest.

With that statement she realised that's what she could now smell...smoke.

Steve would come looking for her before she burnt alive, she knew this and it really was the only thing stopping her from having an all out panic attack. She slid down against the glass unsure of what else she could do, she noted there wasn't smoke coming from under the main door yet but it was only a matter of time.

That was until the door had a fist shaped dent in it coming from the other side, whoever had dealt that punch had extreme strength, it took Erin a second before she scrambled to her feet with the file and ran to the back corner of the room hiding herself within the maze of files keeping hers close to her heart as she calmed her breathing down to be as quiet as possible.

The door came drown with a mighty crash, the siren even louder in the corridor, the smell of smoke beginning to burn her nostrils but she held herself as still as physically possible. Erin had no idea who was in the room with her and she didn't want to know, as she stood still she could hear the heavy footsteps move across the room, thankfully further away from her.

The footsteps moved until they reached the opposite side of the room, she heard the rifling of paper which turned into boxes being thrown from their places, she realised in alarm the person was where she had been only ten minutes ago.

As silence filled the room for a moment she hoped they found what they wanted and would leave, Erin was never that lucky.

The metal frame went crashing into the frames in front of it causing a domino effect across the room which in turn made Erin to shriek in surprise, she instantly knew what a fatal mistake she had made.

Her only option was to make a run for it out of the now empty door frame, she held the file and made her way into the aisle before running as quickly as she could towards the exit but because life is never fair she never made it before she was grabbed by the throat and thrown backwards, hitting her head against one of the frames as her body curled up in defense, she felt the file digging into her ribs, in the back of her less fuzzled mind, all she could think of was that this must be the file the mystery person was looking for.

As Erin tried to focus her vision back into one lens, the same arm as before grabbed her by the front of her dress and dragged her up until they were eye-level, the person or more specifically man came into focus.

He was tall, standing at just under 6ft his face mostly covered by a mask of sorts but his eyes were brown and filled with the utmost control and coldness, his long scraggly brown her framed around his face, she had no idea who he was but the thing about him that caught her attention the most was that his left arm was made of metal.

No wonder he hurt so fucking much when he threw her.

They eyes were locked, hers in fear and his held nothing. He moved so that his metal hand gripped her throat, the file now lying at her feet but he didn't stop applying the pressure, slowly crushing the breath out of her.

Erin had her hands on his arm but she knew trying to stop him was pointless, she did it to balance herself, she just kept praying that Steve would save her in the nick of time.

Her hope was beginning to fade alongside her conciousness when a blast in the doorway threw them both forward into the metal railings, his grip was suddenly missing allowing the sweet oxygen to return to her lungs. The heat from the blast had singed a large part of her hair but that was the last thing on her mind, she raised her head as quickly as she could to keep an eye on where the man had gone, he was a foot away from her, pushing himself up as quickly as he could, clearly the explosion wasn't a part of his plan.

As his face came up to find where she was, their eyes instantly met and with it Erin's face went even whiter.

In all the commotion, his mask had fallen off exposing his face to her.

Erin had seen enough photos to be completely certain it was who she thought it was.

"Bucky?" she uttered the words before she could stop them, her shock completely taking over her.

James Buchanan Barnes looked her, his face turning from one of cold calculation to complete confusion "What?" he replied, his voice was deep and low.

Erin moved herself into more of a sitting position, keeping careful of his movements, he moved up right the same time as she did.

She took in a deep breath before daring to speak "James Barnes...that's your name isn't it?"

He looked at her carefully before his eyes fell to the floor, not looking at anything in particular "I...don't know..." he admitted quietly, more to himself than to her.

Before she could say anything else, she felt the whole building shudder beneath them as she looked back at him in panic she could see him shake his head, putting back on the mask of cold indifference.

They both quickly stood to their feet, Bucky grabbed the file from the floor and went to leave the room, in blind panic Erin grabbed his shoulder "Please don't leave me here Bucky" she pleaded with her eyes in desperation, the building was about to collapse and there was no sign of Steve. He was her only option.

He looked deep into her blue eyes, uncertainty flitted across his face when she used his nickname, it stirred something deep within him he had been forced to forget.

The building shuddered again, the smoke was becoming thicker, the heat becoming stronger, the glass panes become cracked under the strain of the building wishing to collapse and without a second thought Bucky shot the glass window, shattering it open, grabbing Erin by the waist and diving them both out the window.

As they fell, she could see another explosion fill out the archive room, fire burning from the place they just came from. There was no time to think before they hit the concrete floor inside a floor of the construction site on the opposite side of the street.

The air was knocked from her lungs as she fell hard on her side, Erin gasped for breath desperately, her vision fading in and out as the full extent of her head injury hit her.

She rolled onto her front not caring who was there as she tried to get her breath, she felt a hand cup underneath her neck holding her up to allow the oxygen to flow better into her. She saw Bucky's face swim in front of her and if she wasn't mistaken he looked concerned, his eyes furrowed concentrating on her "Come on, breath slowly and deeply" he gently urged her.

She followed his instruction, struggling to keep her eyes open but she noticed his head snapped up as voices called out from nearby, her head was gently placed back down on the hard floor.

And then he was gone.

It could have been minutes, hours or days, she honestly didn't know when she felt another pair warm hands gently grab her face "Erin, come on wake up!"

It was Steve's voice, her wonderful Steve, she opened her eyes slightly to see his face, the comfort that he was there was like a warm blanket dragging her under into the sleep she sorely wanted.

"Steve.." It came out in a whisper as his strong arms picked her up bridal style, she felt him walk quickly like she weighed nothing in his arms.

"It's okay, I've got you" It was the last thing she heard before the blackness overtook her.

When Erin finally woke up the first thing she realised was how dry her throat was and how much her whole body ached, she could feel soft sheet's beneath her and a pillow behind her head.

She slowly opened her eyes and instantly clocked that she was in Steve's room, she'd only been in here several times when she was putting his clothes away when he had been busy away on a mission but it was a comfortable, well lit room.

"Hey, you're awake" Steve had been sat in a chair next to the bed waiting for her to wake up, by the looks of thing's he hadn't even washed or changed since he brought her back.

Erin turned her head in the direction of his voice ignoring the twinge of pain that radiated in her skull and smiled at him, she had never been so pleased to see him.

"Water" she croaked out knowing she needed a long drink of water before she could speak to him properly.

He quickly got up and grabbed the waiting glass of water on the bedside table, putting the straw gently into her mouth letting her take a long sip, the water instantly released some of the tension that had been sitting on her face, the discomfort of her throat somewhat soothed.

When she had finished, Steve put the glass back down on the side and grabbed her hand gently with his own dwarfing her hand entirely "How are you feeling? I've been so worried about you" He spoke quietly concentrated entirely on her.

"I'm just sore, I feel like I've had a knock out round with the Hulk" She groaned as she tried to stretch her limbs out, Steve couldn't help but laugh.

"So..." Erin sat herself up "What happened at S.H.I.E.L.D?"

The smile fell off Steve's face, he gave a resigned sigh "It was a terrorist attack but we don't know who's responsible, no know group has claimed responsibility, we're interrogating some of the ones who stormed the building but they're not talking. The thing is they must have known it was HQ I mean it isn't exactly common knowledge. There were explosions planted on the top floor and first two floors which means it was someone from the inside..."

She couldn't help the gasp of shock that left her mouth "Was anyone hurt?"

Steve gave a pained expression "There was five casualties and many injured but luckily the evacuation protocols saved a lot of lives. As soon as it sounded I came running for you but the terrorist's were everywhere, I couldn't escape the fighting until the building was about to collapse...I thought I lost you" He kissed her hand, the worry laced in with every word he said.

Erin loved the look of concern on his face, it made her smile "I'm okay Steve honestly, I feel a bit worse for wear bu..." she couldn't finish her sentence as the event's of her experience flashed in her mind at light speed.

The sudden change in her whole posture alarmed Steve, he gripped her hand even tighter "Erin what is it? What's wrong?!"

Her eyes finally came into focus and she looked at him before uttering one word

"Bucky"

"Bucky? That doesn't make any sense Erin, I think I should go and call for the doctor for your head injury" Steve made a move to get up but she cried out before he could go "Wait!"

He stopped and sat himself back down, waiting for her to say what she needed to say;

"Steve...I..." She stopped and wasn't sure how to even start what had happened but in the end she had to just be honest.

"I saw Bucky" Her voice was so quiet that if it was anyone else than the super soldier they wouldn't have heard her but he of course did.

"Erin you can't have done, he's been dead for a very long time..." He tried to gently explain to her.

Her voice became stronger, she needed to make him believe her "Steve I know what I saw, it was Bucky and when I said his name he seemed to remember who he was.." Erin took another deep breath before she explained what had happened to her.

Steve didn't interrupt her as she told her version of events, he kept hold of her hand and waited until he was certain she was done. She went into deep detail describing how he looked, his eyes, hair, the scars she had seen on his face, how his voice sounded because she needed Steve to believe her.

When she stopped speaking there was a brief moment of silence before Steve broke it with a faint voice "I can't believe it"

"Please believe me Steve, I would never lie to you about something like this or tell you unless I was certain" Erin sat up against her pillows and put her other hand against Steve's in confirmation.

He looked at her with deep affection "After everything I've seen and done in my life I have no choice but to believe you. Anyway I know you wouldn't lie to me about something so personal to me...I just can't believe Bucky is alive..." he choked up on the last few words.

Erin grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a deep hug, they held each other for as long as it took. They held each other for their losses recen and long gone, for the drama, for the sheer exhaustion that coursed through them both in that very moment.

When they finally let go they smiled at each other, Steve went and got her a hot cup of tea because as Erin said 'tea fixes all ailment's and soothes the soul'. He returned with a tea for her and a coffee for himself, they sat and talked and talked and talked until their cups were drained and the darkness from outside crept into the room.

Just as Steve went to go get them both some dinner his phone rang, he looked at the screen "It's S.H.I.E.L.D" he glanced at her as he answered.

"Yes, sir" "When?" "Where?" Steve paced slightly as he asked his question's to the voice on the phone as Erin stared at him anxiously.

Finally Steve said "Understood, sir" and ended the call, before Erin could even ask he looked at her and answered her "We are being redeployed to Washington D.C"

* * *

There we go, another Chapter done! We will now be moving onto CA: The Winter Soldier, I'm gonna be honest this chapter highly tempted me with a Captain America romance but I'm far too into Bucky to make that happen...maybe in a spin off? Please review, follow and favourite!


	4. New Adventure

Hello everyone! Please don't hate me for my lack of updating, I have been working on two new big chapters to post one after another but due to unforseen circumstances I've not been able to focus as much on it as I wish. This chapter is more to say thank you so much for reading, following, favourting and reviewing. It means so much and thank you for being patient. This is a quick update to prove I haven't forgotten or been lazy. Stay tuned as next week will be a big one! Once again thank you from the bottom of my heart!

* * *

Erin looked around her apartment, it was nearly empty now all the big furniture had been packed up and shipped to Washington. Just a couple of moving boxes full of books, clothes and other trivia to move and that would be the end of this chapter in her life.

She couldn't believe how few personal items she ended up with in the last 8 years but at the end of the day she moved around so much that deep down she knew it was never going to be a permanent home. She carefully sat down on one of the full boxes and just observed the main room.

The place had that eerily empty echo to it that you only get when you empty a once full room. Steve had finished packing yesterday but like her he had very few homey items, the few he had were actually mostly purchased by her so technically it was a joint ownership. Fury's men had already found an apartment for them both to share in Washington, they didn't have to live together and at one point Fury even argued against it, he believed there was too much risk of them 'fraternising' so to speak but it was never like that between them. Erin and Steve had got to know each other better than nearly anyone else knew them in the last few months and Erin felt like he was the only one she could really trust so the decision for them to live together was one they barely had to consider.

Lost in her thoughts, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a cough behind her. She whipped her head round to see Steve leaning against her living room door slyly smiling at her reaction

"You are going to be a terrible agent if you're that easy to sneak up on" he teased her as he walked into the room glancing around the emptiness.

Erin scoffed "You're an incredibly heavy super soldier with the sneak skill of black widow, I think you have one up on me this time" she grinned back at him as he just raised his eyebrow.

Steve came and stood behind her putting his hand against her shoulder, she leant back into his legs and closed her eyes with a sigh

"You all set? The removal guys are downstairs" Steve said gently, he knew she was just ready to get going, she was ready to leave New York after everything...

Erin tilted her head back to look at him "As ready as I'll ever be" he could see the tiredness in her eyes.

She stood up taking once last glance around the room and out the window at the skyline of the city. She felt a strong arm around her shoulder which she returned by putting hers around his waist.

At least she had Steve to experience her next adventure with, she thought as they looked out the window, finally turning and looking at each other with an understanding smile.

"Wanna grab a shake and a burger?" Steve offered enthustially.

She could only grin and respond with an equally enthusiastic head nod.

It was all going to be okay.


	5. Wine and Records

Hello everyone! I can only give my deepest apologies for not updating in around six months. I could tell you the million reasons why but it mainly boils down to my writers block, my depression and difficulty working full time & being a grown up. But in all honesty I've had a real flare to write again recently and began planning my chapters properly, I've also started making a lot more time for myself so I'm determined to publish regularly. I really am sorry for letting anyone down but please bare with me and from the bottom of my heart thank you for the support. Please enjoy and review if possible!

* * *

The cool morning air coupled with the nearly quiet park allowed for a rare moment of peace for Steve. He eagerly inhaled the fresh air as he ran, listening to the birds tweet above him and his feet pound the pavement beneath him.

Captain America began most of his mornings like this since him and Erin moved to Washington; he would get up around 4am, go to the Washington monument park and run 13 miles or so. Once he finished he would usually stop by a local coffee shop near his apartment to get coffee for himself and the lady of leisure he left at home.

During their time living together it had become abundantly clear to Steve that Erin was most definitely not a morning person. She would get up if she had to and would wake up early when required but that did not mean she had to be happy about it, he quickly learnt to supply caffeine and freshly baked goods when he required her attention before 9am. He didn't mind though, she was his best friend and to her he was just 'Steve'. He didn't have to pretend to be anyone else but himself and in his world, that was rare.

He came back into the moment as he realised there was another guy running around the park. He never saw anyone else here this early in the morning so out of courtesy he let the new guy know he was coming up on his left before passing him, which at Steve's speed meant he was saying this nearly every minute.

The other runner was a lean, well built guy in his late twenties or early thirties with dark skin and short hair. Around the fourth time Steve told him he was on the left, the guy responded "Yeah on the left, I know"

The sarcasm made Steve grin as he ran past, he put some real speed into his run until he very soon came up to the guy again who heard him coming. He tried to sprint away from the Captain but he just couldn't outrun him "Don't you say it! Don't…"

"On your left"

The man yelled in frustration as the Captain once again passed him. He ran another two laps before calling it a morning and sat down against the bank of grass catching his breath. A few minutes later Steve came up and introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, I'm Steve Rogers."

"Yeah I guessed that. I'm Sam Wilson." He smiled and shook his hand, they chatted for a while as Sam told Steve he was a paratrooper. Another soldier who could understand the adaption of coming out of war. He told Steve he ran a veteran talk at a local centre and Steve was welcome to come anytime. Something Steve knew he would bare in mind.

As they spoke Steve felt his phone buzz, a quick look at the screen told him that Natasha was picking him up in thirty seconds, as he wrapped up his conversation with Sam, he could hear her classic sports car pull up with it's tell tale roaring engine. Steve made his way to the passenger side.

"You can't run everywhere!" Sam grinned as he checked out the car that was being driven by one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Steve grinned back "No you cannot." Natasha rolled her windows down to get a good look at Sam. "Hey fellas, do either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil" she smirked as Steve replied "Yeah yeah ha ha" while Sam laughed behind them both.

Sam lent down slightly to have a good look at Natasha, she was without a doubt breathtaking.

"Hey" She nodded at him still with a slight smirk as Steve got into the car "How you doing…" Sam murmured back. Steve gave him a little wave before the car sped off into traffic. Sam raised his eyebrows and decided a coffee was in order, he wasn't quite convinced yet he wasn't still dreaming.

* * *

Back at the apartment Erin was just trying to force herself out of bed, she had begrudgingly woken up when her phone beeped at 7am, Steve had text her to say himself and Black Widow had been called on to an assignment and he wasn't sure when they'd be back. She was used to it now, he was a pro at his job so she text him back telling him to stay safe with a couple of kisses before chucking her phone back on the bedside table and snuggling further into the bed.

Living with Captain America was a lot more normal than anyone could imagine it to be. He could be super tidy, sometimes a slob, he occasionally left the toilet seat up, they watched bad movies and took turns making dinner. It was a quiet piece of domestic happiness in their otherwise hectic lives. Erin had been training since they left New York to become a SHIELD agent, her days were filled with physical sparring and intelligence tests. Steve was her main mentor, he was responsible for some of her sparring, Natasha covered most of her weapons training while Clint taught her a bit of everything. She was shaping up to be an impressive agent but she still devoted herself to being Steve's right hand woman.

She eventually pushed herself out of bed and jumped straight into the shower, as she washed her hair she began planning the day ahead. Now that Steve and Natasha were on assignment, she would probably train with Hawkeye for the day on both hand to hand combat and weaponry. She could always rely on one of the team to happily train with her unless there was something big going on, otherwise she would focus on her intelligence training or… the secret project.

Since the events of New York, Erin and Steve had been secretly looking into what had happened to Bucky Barnes aka; The Winter Soldier. Due to Steve's high profile within SHIELD it was difficult to research into it too much without raising suspicion. It had taken a lot of coordination between them both for Erin to get documents with Steve's clearance from the archives without alerting anyone of what they were doing. Even after all their careful planning they barely had anything to go by; any records of The Winter Soldier were extremely sparse. They both believed that any recent recording of him was either buried deep inside SHIELD or at another intelligence agency. Erin suspected the latter.

She dried her hair, ate some toast, drank some tea, got dressed and grabbed her car keys off the counter to make her way to HQ. She had already called Clint and asked if he could take over her training today "If you want your ass handed to you Sinclaire you only had to ask" he had teased at her down the phone. She smiled, Clint was cool to hang out with, he challenged her but knew when to have fun which helped ease the pressure she felt in training sometimes from Natasha and Steve.

Erin pulled up to the secured entrance, showing her badge and scanning her fingers through the open car window. After the guard gave her the go ahead, she drove on and parked up in the underground car park, the cool air of the car park helped in the blistering August heat as she made her way to the elevator and pressing the button for level 3; The Gym.

It didn't take her long to get changed and ready to fight, she walked into the large room filled with mats and various non-lethal weapons on the walls. Clint was already stood on one of the mats stretching his arms, he caught sight of Erin and gave her a big grin "So Sinclaire, ready to have your ass handed to you?" he finishes shaking his arms out and moved on to his legs.

"Take it easy on me Barton, Steve woke me up by text at an ungodly hour" She complained, beginning to stretch out her own body.

"What do you consider an ungodly hour?" Clint retorted moving into a squat position while Erin began stretching her legs.

"Uh...like 7am?" She unwillingly admitted while starting at the leg stretched out in front of her.

Clint stared at her with disbelief for a split second before bursting out laughing "You think 7am is EARLY?! Doesn't Cap get up at like 4am for a run everyday?" His laughter was still etched on his face as they both stood up and moved into a fighting stance.

Erin just rolled her eyes "Shut up and fight me Barton" and with that they began her day of training.

She turned the temperature of the shower to high to help ease some of the pure muscle pain coursing through her body. Erin and Clint had worked hard that day, they covered a mixture of martial arts, hand to hand combat, weapons training and espionage. Her espionage training was designed to teach her how to pick up information quicker, assess situations efficiently and learn psychology aka; body language, odd behaviour etc, which from what Clint said was only the tip of the iceberg on that type of training, it wasn't even close to what himself and Black Widow knew.

Normally espionage training was kept to a minimal for SHIELD agents however due to her proximity to the Avengers and the potential vulnerability of this, her training was more intense, more extensive and more in-depth. Truth be told some days Erin felt like it was slowly killing her but it was worth it. Never in her life had she felt as self-assured and capable. She knew she wasn't Avenger standard but then again they were Earth's mightiest heroes so she wasn't too hard on herself.

The feeling of the hot water on her sore muscles nearly made her moan as she stepped into the showers at the Gym. They were even better than the one at her apartment plus she didn't have to worry about a certain super soldier complain about all the hair that clogged up the drain. Oops.

Erin got out the shower, got dressed, quickly brushing her hair and leaving it in a damp ponytail, she then made her way back down to the car park to head home. As the elevator doors were closing, a stray foot inserted itself in between the doors forcing them open, the foot belonged to no other than Hawkeye.

"Thanks for holding the door open for me, Sinclaire" He gave her a sly grin as he stepped into the elevator. "I didn't hear you shout" Erin replied.

"Well I guess all that alertness training has all been for nothing, huh?" Erin laughed, she liked that she could joke around with him.

Erin smiled "I suppose it was...but I think today was a good day" she looked at her shoes as she said the last part, exhaustion was cracking through her tone.

"Kid, you are doing great. You work hard, you train hard, you're smart and you're dedicated. That's all anyone can ask for. The team's proud of you" He smiled at her reassuringly before stepping out of the lift as it stopped on the ground floor of HQ "See you soon, Sinclaire" she returned his smile as the doors closed again taking her to the garage.

It was 11pm by the time she pulled up to their apartment block, she trained late today and had to stop to grab some food shopping on the way home. She noticed the apartment lights were on as she turned the car ignition off, that was unusual, Steve always text her to tell her he was back. She quickly checked her mobile to find no messages, she tried calling his number to check if he was home but it went straight to voicemail.

Her mind raced a million miles a minute trying to decide what to do, face whoever is in her apartment alone or call someone at SHIELD? Would it be a friend or foe? Captain America had a lot of enemies, she knew if it was an enemy she was unlikely to win that fight.

She was about to call the SHIELD emergency number when she saw Steve looking out from the window. He looked fine, she couldn't see anything wrong from where he was stood but she decided it was best to take the more quiet approach.

The shopping was left in the car as she got out and quickly made her way into the lobby of the apartment block, the front door was protected by a four number password unique to each resident. The light on the lock beeped green allowing her entry, she grabbed her glock from the gun holder on her waist, with efficiency & silence she made her way up to their floor. She didn't want to take chance that someone was in there with him that was a hostile. She knew Steve could handle himself but even Captain America had a whole team to watch his back out on the field, she wanted to do the same for him at home.

Her steps were absolutely silent as she crept up to her front door, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves as she turned the door knob and followed her training. She unlocked the door and pushed it open quietly before stepping in and sweeping every corner of the room as quickly as possible, gun pulled out but finger away from the trigger.

The room was empty, Steve was nowhere to be seen which only heightened her anxiety. She continued taking shallow quick breaths as she moved forward into the room until a floorboard creaked causing her to stop. Suddenly another floorboard squeaked much louder and closer, Erin ducked with one knee bent and the other against the floor as she swivelled herself, pointing the gun towards the noise. Staring down the barrel of Erin's gun was an extremely shocked looking Steven Rogers, Erin took a quick look around him to see if anyone was coming behind him but there was no-one, just him.

Erin let a sigh of relief out before standing up, she could feel her body shaking with the adrenaline coursing through her veins and she took a moment to catch her breath.

"What were you doing? Why did you have your gun out?" Steve had his Captain America voice on, he was in serious mode. Erin looked up at him realising she was pretty pissed off at him for the whole situation.

"Well Steven I don't know, maybe if my flatmate had the courtesy to let me know he was home or even have the decency to have his phone switched on then I wouldn't have to worry about having an intruder" He could hear the accusations and worry in her voice, her body was tense and her face was doing that scrunched up thing she did when she was angry.

Steve let out a big breath before walking over and embracing her, at first she didn't respond, she kept rigid but eventually the feeling of his arms wrapped around her made the anger go away and she returned the hug "I was just so worried, why didn't you answer your phone?" she breathed into his chest.

He kissed her on the head and pulled away looking at her, a regretful look on his face "I know, I'm sorry Erin. My mobile got destroyed on the mission and...well I've been really distracted since I got home. I don't have much of an excuse." She could tell something had happened that had shaken him and she wanted to address it but right then wasn't the time.

Erin just smiled up at him and said "It's okay, we're all fine and that's what matters. Can you please go down and grab the shopping from the car? I'll get changed and make us some dinner, I bet you haven't eaten." She said the last part in a motherly scold, Steve grinned "No ma'am I haven't. I'll grab the stuff." She tossed him her car keys from her pocket and watched him close the front door.

She went to her bedroom and changed into her pyjama shorts and long sleeved grey top, pulling her hair from the ponytail to let it dry naturally. By the time she came out, Steve was putting the food in the fridge and had put the kettle on.

Erin smiled as she made her way into the kitchen "You are good sometimes" she mused as she grabbed the stuff to make a quick beef stir fry, as usual working around Steve's enormous frame. He made her a cup of breakfast tea exactly how she liked it before making himself a coffee, he sat down at the table and watched her cook. Most nights were like this, he watched her cook while he prepared the table and they idly talked about what happened that day. Some nights, like tonight, they just spent time together in comfortable silence.

Before long Erin served up dinner for both of them, Steve's plate was always triple the size of hers due to his enormous appetite and constant metabolism but she never minded cooking so much, it relaxed her.

The silence continued until after dinner was finished. Steve washed the plates and Erin looked at him from the kitchen table trying to fathom what had shaken him so much.

"Have you got work tomorrow or training or anything?" She asked as she made her way to the fridge.

He finished drying the plates off and putting them in the cupboard "No I've got two free days, Fury's direct orders to uh...recover from the mission or so he says. How about you? Fury said Clint was pushing you hard today."

Erin grabbed the bottle of sauvignon blanc from the fridge and stood on her tiptoes as she grabbed the wine glasses from the cupboard. Steve stopped offering to help her with any height related issues because she was too stubborn to let counters defeat her and he also couldn't help but be amused by her cabinet acrobats.

She groaned with strain as she got the glasses down, her muscles screaming at her for the excess movement "Yeah you could say that, if I hurt now then god forbid what tomorrow is going to be like" she moaned, trying to stretch out her sore muscles "Yes, I also have a few days off to recuperate which is why I have decided we're going to play records and drink wine tonight as we have both obviously had shitty days"

Steve nodded with silent agreement to her plan, he walked over to the record player and picked a Bessie Smith record while Erin poured the wine into the glasses now placed on the coffee table. She grabbed her glass and snugly settled into the corner of their chesterfield as Steve got the record going.

Soon the beautiful rhythm of Bessie filled the room, Steve grabbed his own glass and sat on the end of the sofa with his body leaning against the arm. They sat there for several moments, content with listening to the record and taking sips of their wine.

Eventually Erin addressed the elephant in the room "So what happened today?" She asked quietly before taking another drink.

She looked up at him, his expression was one of uncertainty and concentration, she saw he was trying to pick his words carefully "Well it was a standard hostage and rescue mission of SHIELD staff from a research ship. We rescued the hostages and defeated the bad guys but Natasha had a mission entirely of her own" he took a big drink of his wine leaving the last sentence hanging in the air.

Erin could have a good guess what type of mission Black Widow was on, she was a spy and an assassin, if it was a research ship then she would be sent there for one purpose "She was gathering Intel?"

"Yeah" Steve replied quietly "Which wouldn't really be a problem if I had been told, I thought we were on the same team but she was her own team that is reporting directly to Fury" she couldn't mistake the bitterness in his voice.

"Steve, you all report directly to Fury and I'm sure Natasha doesn't want to lie to you but she has to do her job the same as you. It's not exactly easy to say no to Fury" Erin gave him a knowing look, he gave a small smile in return.

He let you a big sigh "I know, I just want to be able to trust who I'm working with" he put his hand through his hair and sank back further into the sofa.

"And what else happened? I know that's not the full story Steve" Erin refilled the now empty glasses.

He grabbed his glass and took another long drink before answering her "I can't tell you that Erin. Fury's orders."

"Oh" She didn't know what else to say, Steve usually told her everything or gave her an indication, even when it was classified. This was a complete shut down.

Steve could tell she was let down "Don't misunderstand me Erin, it's not I don't want to tell you what happened today...but I can't. This goes way beyond even me which is why it's got under my skin"

"Security" She whispered into her glass, struggling to even fathom what he had seen.

"Exactly, don't worry about it too much doll. Anyway, what happened in your day?" He asked trying to swiftly move on from the sombre mood.

Erin gave a small laugh and stretched her arms out, reminding herself of the aches all over her body "Well Barton certainly didn't let me off easy. We did hand-to-hand, weaponry, espionage and stuff. We practised some more Jujutsu and we did target practice with a semi-automatic and crossbow. He keeps trying to get me to do the whole bow and arrow thing but he gets so worked up every time I miss that I've told him I won't do it anymore."

Captain America looked at her with an eyebrow raised in pure disbelief before letting out a laugh "I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. A short British girl telling Hawkeye, the best archer in the world, she won't be taught to be an archer. You know what you want at least"

Erin grinned right back "He's bad enough during regular training, let alone him trying to re-create a mini-me"

They both laughed into the evening, sipping wine and talking about anything else apart from the obvious. It was rare they both had time away from work at the same time so the rest of the weekend was spent making good food, watching movies and listening to records just as they liked it. It was nice to enjoy some peace & quiet especially in the world they lived in. Most of their free time was usually spent with other Avengers or at training so time for just them two was what they needed.

Around Sunday afternoon Erin was preparing steaks for their dinner that night and making an apple pie to follow when Steve stormed into the front room from the shared office with a few sheets of paper which he slammed down on the dining table "Erin, look at what I just picked up over the radio waves."

She put down the apple she was peeling and walked over to glance at the papers, she could see there was several coordinates and what looked like code scribbled messily, clearly Steve's writing.

He pointed to the set of coordinates "You know from the Intel or 'ghost stories' we've found about the Winter Soldier, there have always been mentions of an Eastern European language spoken...specifically Russian? Well I've been listening to different radio waves across Eastern Europe for the last few months in case anything is mentioned that sounds unusual and today I managed to translate a Russian message used on some of the oldest radio waves still used which I figured was odd anyway" Erin nodded to show she was listening, she could feel her pulse getting faster.

Steve took a deep breath "The message was short but it said there had been an attack on a research facility in southern Russia, the word ghost is mentioned several times. I remember a while ago receiving some SHIELD Intel that only around two hours from the location via the coordinates given in the message there is an abandoned Hydra facility we haven't staked out yet. It's not the most solid lead but my intuition tells me it's Bucky."

Erin gently pulled the papers towards her to study them more in depth "How did you translate the message?" She asked quietly looking at the writing.

Steve gave a small smile and raised an eyebrow as he admitted "Well you don't do that many missions with Black Widow without learning some Russian" Erin looked at him and smiled, she was pretty impressed truthfully that he picked that much Russian up but she shouldn't be. He was nearly fluent in four languages.

"So what do you want to do?" Is all Erin could ask, anything they did involving tracing the Winter Soldier would have to be strictly off SHIELD records.

Steve knew it as well, he let himself sink into the kitchen chair and Erin pulled up the one opposite him. For a few minutes they sat there looking at the papers on the table both in deep thought.

Eventually Steve looked at Erin, his eyes had darkened, she had never seen him look more serious "We're going to have to go out there and investigate. You obviously don't have to come with me, I'll be able to think up a story for myself. This goes against anything either of us have been trained for, this goes against SHIELD, the oaths we have sworn to serve. But he's my brother in everything apart from blood, I need to find him."

She reached her hand across the table and place her small hand over his, locking her eyes with his as she spoke "Steve I'm loyal to you. You are the most selfless and heroic person I have ever met. I trust you and I will help you find Bucky, no matter what."

He was so touched by her words all he could do was wrap his hands around hers in appreciation and smile.

* * *

In the days that followed they planned and meticulously prepared for their journey to the Hydra facility. It took some persuasion however Steve managed to convince Fury that he wanted to take Erin on her first Intel mission on the basis that exploring an old Hydra facility would be the safest especially considering it was 'abandoned'. As one of Erin's senior mentors he had the authority to take her alone and report back on her progress, it was all nearly too perfect.

Erin's training with Natasha and Clint was intense for the last few days before the trip, she knew Natasha suspected something was up but she tried her best not to let on the truth. They couldn't afford for Fury to find out what they were up to now.

Finally the day before they were due to go out, Erin was preparing her supplies at HQ with Clint. She packed thermal gear, snow boots, first aid kit, rations, two semi automatic guns, a switchblade, an old fashioned flare-gun and watch especially designed for her and the Captain to contact each other if they get lost. Originally designed by Stark for the Avengers, the watches were waterproof, bulletproof and could reach the other interlinked watches at nearly unlimited distances. Steve kindly asked Tony to making two more that will work solely between Erin and Steve if they get separated. After enduring an hour of invasive questions, teasing and Captain America threatening to punch Iron Man, Tony agreed to make them.

Clint smiled as she watched her pack her things, almost like a proud parent "You feeling ready Sinclaire?"

"As ready as I'll ever be Barton" She finally zipped her bag up and putting it over her shoulder. Steve and Erin were planning on coming into HQ around 4am where a SHIELD vehicle would take them about an hour out from the facility, the rest they would go on foot.

"You're a good agent Erin, even if you don't find anything it will be great practice to get out more in the field" Clint reassured her.

Erin smiled at him "I'll see you when I'm back Hawkeye" Clint rolled his eyes "I'll think of some name for you by the time you're back"

"It better be something cool or it's a no-go!" They both laughed before having a brief hug goodbye. Erin then made her way back home for a good night's sleep.

On the drive home a million thoughts raced through her mind, she honestly had no idea what to expect to gain from this trip. They had both realised it was very unlikely that Bucky would be still be there, if he had even been there in the first place but she hoped they would find something. She didn't think she could stand to see anymore hurt on Steve's face when it came to Bucky Barnes.

She pulled up the apartment and made her way up so she could make dinner before Steve got home. As she got on to her floor a strange sense of foreboding came over her that she couldn't explain, she looked over her shoulder but nothing was out of the ordinary, there was no-one around.

She unlocked the front door and let herself into the darkness of the room, the feeling was still there and as she closed the door, Erin sensed she wasn't alone. She stood there for a few more seconds before walking further into the room trying to make as little noise as possible. As she moved forward she heard the faintest noise behind her, one of the floorboard squeaking, she ducked while throwing an elbow behind her into the assailants stomach area. When she hit a solid body she knew her intuition had been right. The body barely moved or even made a noise from hit to stomach she gave with her elbow, she threw her body forward into a roll bringing herself on to her knees away from the mystery person, pushing herself up and managing to move herself round to face the threat.

It was the Winter Soldier. His metal arm gleaming in the moonlight coming through the window, his long hair and mask covering his face but she knew it was him. Erin lost all ability to rationally think, she dropped her fighting stance not knowing what to do "Bucky?" is all she could ask.

He tilted his head slightly at her words, his voice was quiet when he answered "I remember you from New York. You called me that then, it reminds me of something but I can't…" his words trailed off "You aren't supposed to be here, you're not part of my mission"

Before she could say anything else or even react, he strode over to her and knocked her out with the butt of his gun. Bucky caught her before she hit the ground, he looked into her face, studying her. She knew something about him he couldn't remember, that name brought back pictures in his head which felt like faded dreams but they seemed too real.

She was bleeding slightly from where he hit her on the temple, a twinge of guilt went through him. That was a feeling he believed had long died within him, it was like something deep inside him was starting to wake up and he needed to know more. He grabbed the bag she had left by the front door and carried her over his shoulder silently out of the window apartment, he needed answers from her and he wouldn't get them had a mission to complete then he would have his questions answered.

* * *

Steve made his way to his apartment, he parked his motorbike up behind Erin's car. He guessed she would have been home by now making dinner, he told her time and time again she didn't have to make dinner most nights but she insisted. He had to admit, he adored her cooking and everything he cooked kinda sucked but he still did it if she was running late. He turned to look up at the apartment windows but the lights were out 'That's odd' Steve thought, why would her car be here and the lights be out?

He had a bad feeling about this and usually when Captain America felt something wasn't right, it meant it wasn't. He stealthily made his way up the side of the building towards the window, carrying his shield on his arm. As he reached the window he could hear his stereo playing gently from within. He smoothly opened the window, stepping quietly inside. He walked further into room and noticed a figure sitting in one of the living room chairs out the corner of his eye. Steve moved quickly, bringing his shield up in protection but quickly lowered it again when he noticed it was Nick Fury, sitting in the dark in his living room with Erin nowhere to be seen.

Steve relaxed slightly "I don't remember giving you a key" he said while leaning back into the wall behind him. Fury was sat far back in the chair, he looked like he had hell of a day, he winced 'ow' as he sat himself up "You really think I'd need one?" he replied "My wife kicked me out" he remarked as though to explain his random appearance.

This didn't sit well with Steve, he was certain Fury wasn't married but then again even if he was, why would he come to his apartment?

"Didn't know you were married"

Fury breathed deeply "A lot of things you don't know about me"

Steve moved further into the room, turning the light on "I know, Nick. That's the problem" he sighed.

As he turned the light on he could see Fury was banged up, something had happened to him. Fury gently raised his arms to silence any questions, he could see the concern on Steve's face. He turned the light back off and began typing on his phone before showing Steve the message 'EARS EVERYWHERE' it read on the screen.

The music continued playing in the background "I'm sorry to have to do this but I had no place else to crash" Fury said while looking around the room before writing another message.

Steve felt his heart drop into his stomach as this one read 'SHIELD COMPROMISED. ERIN HAS BEEN TAKEN'

He had to do his best to remain calm "Who else knows about your wife?" he asked while trying to figure out the pieces in his head.

Fury got up from the chair showing another message 'YOU AND ME' while replying "Just...my friends"

"Is that what we are?" Steve asked.

Fury replied "That's up to you" before several shots rang through the apartment hitting Nick several times. Steve sprung into action, grabbing the collapsed man and dragging him into the kitchen while looking out the window for the shooter but all he could see was a glint of mental.

As Nick lay on the kitchen floor he grabbed Steve's hand and pressed a memory stick into it before gasping "Don't trust anyone!"

Steve quickly pocketed the stick before pressing the emergency button on his wrist watch which would call for an emergency response back up team to his location. The com on the watch instantly came on "ETA one minute to your immediate location Captain" Steve quickly responded "A hit man has shot Nick Fury in my apartment, Fury is laid on my kitchen floor and in urgent need of medical attention. I am in pursuit of the gunman"

He moved across to the window where the shots came from and could see the figure begin to the move from the roof the adjacent building, Steve threw himself out the window to the opposite floor of the building in front, covering himself with his shield.

When he landed he could see the assailant running to make his way to the building on the other side and Steve following, breaking doors and windows of the office he was going through to follow the hit man to the other building. He got to a window as the assailant jumped on to the adjacent roof, Steve jumped out the window and landed on the roof, throwing his shield with all his might towards the unknown person.

Steve watched as his shield was caught mid-air by the rim, like a frisbee and thrown back to him. The long hair, the mask, the metal arm...everything Erin had described to him. He was staring at Bucky Barnes.

Before he could react, Bucky was gone and Steve was left feeling broken.


	6. A Silent Prayer

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for still reading and reviewing, it means the world to me! So I've split my chapters up, this isn't as long as I wanted to be but I'm planning on dedicating the next chapter (which will be posted much sooner) entirely to Bucky and Erin and picking the pace up slightly. Please read and review but most of all enjoy! xoxo

* * *

The slow drip-drip-drip of water falling was the first thing Erin was aware of when she slowly came back into consciousness. Other than that, wherever she was, it was total silence.

For the longest time Erin just listened to the water dropping and refused to open her eyes. She was aware of the thumping in the front of her head, she assumed it was where he had hit her with his gun. Bucky. James Buchanan Barnes. She couldn't think too much on that right now, she had to focus on staying alive. She was tied to a chair, her wrists and her ankles bound to the chair by some kind of rope, she could tell by the stiffness in her limbs that she'd been there for a while.

Eventually she opened her eyes and slowly surveyed the room around her. The room was extremely dark, as her eyes adapted she noticed it was a concrete room with a single bed in one corner, a sink and a toilet in the other. In looked remarkably like a prison cell but it wasn't cold.

She tried moving her wrists to see if there was any give in the rope. There wasn't. The feeling of panic began slowly creeping in as she thought about what to do. She had no idea where she was, who was watching her or what they wanted. She assumed Bucky must have taken her but she didn't know who he worked for. At this point she also guessed that whoever 'they' were, they'd likely torture her for information about SHIELD or Captain America. Erin had been through some training about the chance of capture and torture, given the job and the connections she had but she realised she was still totally unprepared for what might happen to her.

All she could do was wait.

The dripping sound of water was becoming extremely irritating as hours passed, or what she assumed was hours. She was very thirsty and she could feel how stiff her limbs were, the circulation had slowed right down in her hands and feet. The thumping in her head had now become a migraine, all she wanted to do was go back to sleep but she couldn't, she had to try and stay alert.

Eventually she heard what sounded like footsteps in the near distance, the sound was becoming louder and getting closer. She tried to sit up straighter so she could stare her kidnappers right in the face, the ache in her arms and the pain in her head brought tears to her eyes but she refused to let them fall, she had to stay strong.

The footsteps stopped right in front of the door and a key slid into the lock, as it turned, Erin could feel her heart racing a million miles an hour. The door opened letting in a low light from the corridor but it was still enough to make her squint as her eyes tried to adapt. She could make out a tall and strong figure standing in the doorway, she didn't manage to look into the face of said person before they came in and closed the door behind them, plunging them both back into darkness. She dared not breath as the person stood there for a moment before flicking a switch, bathing the room in light, as she looked up she could see that her visitor was Bucky.

As brave as Erin was, in that moment complete terror took over her. She knew nearly everything there was to know about him but he was unstable and lethal. He could probably kill her with the flick of his wrist.

He was wearing the same combat outfit she saw him in last time, it was nearly all black but his metal arm shone bright against his ensemble. She noticed the top of the arm had a red star on the top, did he work for the Russians?

His face was bare apart from his stubble, his long brown hair framed his face, his eyes were nearly black as he stared at her, he didn't say a word. Erin didn't want to start the conversation either so met her bright blue eyes with his and stared straight back. This seemed to last a full five minutes before he finally spoke "Who are you?" He asked her.

Erin licked her very dry lips before answering "My name is Erin Sinclaire" her voice was so hoarse it came out as barely more than a whisper but he had heard her.

Bucky looked at her before walking behind her and grabbing something. She couldn't turn her body so all she could do was stare straight ahead at the door as he dragged whatever he had towards her, the sound of metal scraping concrete filled the room. As he came back into view she realised he had a chair which he placed directly in front of her before sitting down. Again they stared at each other for a few moments before he broke the silence "Who are you, Erin Sinclaire?"

This threw her slightly. Who was she? She thought carefully before responding "I'm a friend of Steve Rogers. He was your best friend."

He didn't respond at first, he stared at her intently, a look of frustration finally passing over his face before he quickly stood up and violently threw the chair against the wall with one hand "WHY DO I KNOW THAT NAME? WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?" He shouted at her, pacing like a wild animal trapped in a cage.

Erin had to remain calm otherwise this would be all over in a flash "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes and you were born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York. Your best friend was Steve Rogers otherwise known as Captain America" she decided it was best to stop there, she might be dead in thirty seconds.

He had stopped pacing and stared at the ground before slowly walking back to the chair, picking it back and sitting down. He was bent over looking at his fists, clenching and opening his palms several times before he answered "I saw him. At the apartment. I knew him" he looked up at her, the confusion ripping through him with uncertainty.

The migraine was making it nearly impossible for Erin to keep her eyes open but she fought through "You do know him, Bucky. You've known him nearly your whole life"

"These pictures keep flashing through my head, almost like memories but…" he trailed off, he put his head into his hands. For the first time, Erin thought he looked vulnerable.

She was struggling to keep conscious at this point, the pain combined with the thirst was becoming too much "Bucky…" she whispered, trying to get his attention.

He looked up at her as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went limp in the chair. He stood up and gently moved her head side to side, she was out cold, her lips were nearly chalky from their dryness, she was severely dehydrated. He went to untie her but stopped himself, had he forgotten all of his training? She was the enemy.

But was she? This was the question that was plaguing him, he had brought her here to find out more information but she certainly wasn't dangerous. She had no weapons, no means of contacting anyone, she sat before him unconscious with only the clothes on her back as possessions. Even if she could fight, he could fight better so that was of little concern.

Finally he came to the conclusion to untie her, he wouldn't get anymore information out of her if she was to die. As he bent over to undo the ropes that tied up her wrists, he noticed they were nearly purple, another twinge of guilt went through him like an electric shock. The only two times he had felt guilt in the last fifty years was because of this women, even he knew that must mean something, but exactly what, he couldn't yet say.

He quickly untied her before gently picking her up and placing her on the bed. He went and retrieved the medical supplies he had stored and hooked her up to an IV drip, she needed hydrating and some proper rest.

Hopefully next time she woke up, they could have a longer conversation.

* * *

Steve stared through the hospital glass while doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to keep Nick Fury alive. Next to him, watching the horror unfold, was Natasha Romanoff and Agent Hill. They didn't say a word as the doctors proceeded to operate on the Director, attempting to keep him alive despite the bullets riddled in his body.

The heart monitor flat-lined, Steve's heart dropped into his stomach as the defibrillator was brought out, charged and placed against Fury's chest in a last ditch attempt to get his heart going again. After several minutes of the doctors trying to restart his heart with no success, they stopped. Nick Fury was dead.

He heard Agent Hill take in a sharp breath, he couldn't look any longer, he walked out of the room into the main corridor, his head spinning with shock. Fury gone, SHIELD infiltrated, Erin missing. He looked at the memory stick still pressed into his palm, it held something so important that Fury was willing to die for it and he only trusted Steve with that information.

As he stood there debating what to do, a movement from the corner of his eye made him look down the corridor where an engineer was opening up a vending machine next to the waiting room. A thought suddenly occurred him and he made his way down to the vending machine with urgency.

* * *

Bucky couldn't help but stare at her as she slept, she looked almost peaceful. He sat in the same chair he had tied to her the previous day, she had been out for nearly fifteen hours.

Her hair was a faded red colour, he could see her brown roots growing in from the top. Her skin was pale and she had small moles dotted all the way up her arms, with another two moles on the right side of her face near her temple. When she was awake he noticed she had some of the biggest and bluest eyes he had ever seen. She had a full bottom lip and slightly thinner top lip, her face was heart shaped. As he looked at her the word beautiful sprang to his mind.

He was a soldier, a trained assassin, loyal to Hydra. He didn't notice women, he only knew his assignment and his targets regardless of gender. Maybe he just never had the opportunity to study a woman this close before who wasn't a target.

Regardless, he thought she was beautiful. 'Erin' he tested out saying her name in his head, it suited her. When she spoke he noted she had a British accent, as much as he was trying to find out what she knew about him, somewhere deep inside him he had a desire to find out more about her.

As he got lost in his train of thought, Erin finally began to stir from her sleep. She took a deep breath in as she slightly stretched her arms and legs, he closely watched her for her reaction. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked a few times as her eyes came back into focus. She turned her head and her eyes met with Bucky's, he was surprised to see no fear in her eyes, only calm.

"Water?" She asked, her voice was still very hoarse, she was hydrated from the IV drop but that doesn't take away the desperate dryness in your throat.

He picked up a flask he had next to his chair, unscrewing the lid and passing it over to her. He was close enough to her bed that she only had to stretch her arm out to take it out of his hand. She slightly pushed herself up by her elbows as she took a deep swig from the flask, the cool water feeling heavenly against the dryness of her mouth and throat. She had two more drinks before passing the flask back and letting herself lie back down on the bed.

"Why am I here?" Erin asked, she was clearly too tired to be afraid. They both knew that if he had wanted to kill her, she would already be dead. She had also realised if he was going to torture her, it was unlikely he would have put her on a bed and hooked her up to an IV drip.

The question hung in the air for a few moments as Bucky thought of the best way to answer.

Finally he replied "I need information." At this Erin turned her head to look at him "Are you going to hurt me?"

There was a short silence "No." He met her blue eyes, he could see how fatigued she was "You need to get some more sleep." He got up and turned to leave the room.

"Please don't leave, not yet." She pleaded quietly, looking at him with a silent prayer.

Deep inside him stirred some foreign emotion he could not quite place his finger on "Okay." it came out as a gruff answer but an answer nonetheless.

He sat back down on the chair and watched her close her eyes as slept took over her within minutes. Did she think he was there to protect her? She should be terrified, he knocked her out and took her to some unknown location. Bucky couldn't decide if she was stupid or just too tired to care. He assumed it was the latter. He knew she wasn't stupid, that much was obvious was from talking to her but this assumption that he would watch over her was...naive to say the least.

However that didn't stop him from watching her sleep for another ten minutes before finally leaving and closing the door quietly behind him.


	7. Vodka & Showers

Hello everyone, it has been such a long time. I could provide a million different reasons as to why I am a terrible author but I won't waste your time. Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy. Please provide reviews and constructive criticism xoxo

* * *

She wasn't sure how many days had passed but judging by the how she smelt it was verging on nearly a week. She rarely saw him. He came and brought her food every day but didn't stay to chat, he hadn't tried to interrogate her since the initial incident. Then what she judged to be about two days ago, he brought her food, a new blanket and she hadn't seen him since. He didn't say a word during the whole encounter.

When she realised he hadn't been back in some time, the fear of loneliness and reality of her situation gripped her. This was swiftly followed by the realisation that if something happened to him then she was trapped down here with no way out. She had not seen or heard anyone else down here since her arrival, there weren't any doors or windows in the room. Erin felt filthy, scared and isolated.

She spent the hours either sleeping or inspecting the room for flaws but he didn't leave her anything to work with. It was literally a concrete room with a bed that had a thin mattress, a sheet, a toilet in the corner and some toilet paper. With just her thoughts for company her mind wandered to the stars & beyond.

Where was Steve now? Was he okay? Natasha, Clint?

These thoughts of worry were always followed by questions about her captor. He was indeed Bucky Barnes, that she knew for certain. But his mind had been played with and that was putting it mildly. Someone had twisted him into a cold, calculating assassin from an American War hero and just by looking at the symbol on his metallic arm, she was pretty certain it was the Russians.

But why? It would be safe to assume that this involved Hydra but there was something else at play here. He wasn't just an assassin, even without the metal arm he was at peak physical fitness, he was clearly extremely sharp and had reflexes that no human should have.

It reminded Erin of someone else, another super soldier she knew.

As she stared at the ceiling from the thin mattress she was pretty sure she had a good idea of what happened. She knew he was thrown from the train on the Commando's last mission, his body was never found and he was presumed dead. But what if he was found by Hydra first?

They had already begun working on a way to replicate the doctor's super soldier serum when Steve went through the transition so what if the first Hydra patient was Bucky Barnes? It all made sense. He had been brainwashed and trained to be a Hydra soldier and carry out their terrible tasks as a silent ghost, wiping out their enemies over the years, one by one. Everything a good assassin needs to be. Is that what Steve would have turned out to be if he had fallen into the wrong hands?

Erin could only lay on the thin mattress and wonder.

Another period of time passed, how long she genuinely had no idea but she was starting to get antsy. She was pacing the room back and forth, debating using the toilet water as a means to wash herself. She was becoming desperate. That's when she heard the blessed sound of footsteps she had been waiting for.

She waited with baited breath hoping it was Bucky because if it was anyone else, she didn't think she was fit enough to defend herself right now. She sat herself on the edge of the bed and gripped the mattress tightly in some hope of keeping herself together. As the door opened, letting in the bright light from the hallway, Bucky made his way into the room. Erin let out an audible sigh of relief, not even looking into his face as she stared at the floor, letting it sink in she wouldn't be left here to die, not yet anyway.

He didn't say anything at first, he waited until she finally looked up at him. Erin's face was gaunt and pale, her hair hung in greasy strands around her face and her clothes looked filthy. As she stared into his eyes, he had no expression. He looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him, so she could only presume he had a successful mission. There wasn't a visible scratch on him.

Finally he said "Would you like a shower?" For a moment, Erin didn't respond, he could be tricking her. Why would he offer? Did she smell THAT bad? But then again why was she here in the first place, he hadn't told her and she almost stopped caring as to why.

"Yes please" her words croaked out from her throat from the lack of use. She was desperate to feel clean again. Bucky made a space in between him and the door "Come with me" he said, waiting for her. They both knew she wouldn't run, she was too weak and where the hell would she go anyway? For all she knew they were on an island, middle of the sahara, the rocky mountains. She knew she wouldn't make it far on her own even if she did manage to escape.

She slowly stood up and walked towards him, the light from the hallway was nearly blinding as she made her way through the door which Bucky closed behind her. She had to squint her eyes and look down at the floor for a moment to let her eyes adjust, Bucky didn't rush her. Eventually when she looked back up she could see it was like a hospital hallway, clinical but with the marks of disuse everywhere.

Bucky lightly gripped her shoulder and steered her to the left straight down the corridor, it was very long and it seemed to be door after door, they all looked exactly the same. She assumed they were all set out the same as hers, they passed several corridor signs but they were all in Cyrillic script so she was unable to read it. She cursed herself and vowed to learn Russian or something after this, she didn't stop to think about whether or not there would be an after.

He steered her right, then left and a few turns after that he led her into a shower block. It was of prison design, open showers, no curtain, all concrete but at least there were lights. Erin looked around before looking at Bucky for guidance on what she was doing, who had his arms folded and merely nodded towards a bench at the far end of the block where there lay a bar of soap, a towel and what looked like clothes.

She made her way over and picked the clothes up, there were some men's trousers and a black jumper. She was pretty sure these were his clothes but she couldn't care less, she sniffed them and could tell they had been freshly cleaned, she breathed a sigh of happiness.

"Turn the tap to the left for hot water. I will wait until you are done" Erin jumped slightly not expecting him to speak, when she turned her head she noticed his eyebrow was raised, probably because she was sniffing his clothes.

Slightly embarrassed she placed the clothes back on the bench "So...what are you going to do? Watch me shower?" she shifted her feet, unsure what to do with herself. She wanted to shower so badly and almost didn't care if he did watch but then the part of her that still had dignity didn't want to just give him a free bloody show.

He crossed his arms "Just shower, I won't be directly watching you but I won't be leaving either" by his tone she knew that was the end of that conversation. Erin gave up any fight there and then. She didn't feel any sinister vibes from Bucky and there was nothing in his files to suggest he hurt women in that way so she decided to just get on with it.

She turned her back to him before carefully taking her clothes off. Despite being stuck in a room for days, her body ached everywhere. She took off her top, followed by her bottoms and her underwear. Erin left them in a pile on the floor, in her opinion they needed burning.

She refused to look at Bucky as she stepped towards the shower with the soap in hand. She turned the tap and felt the freezing cold water spatter against her feet, she quickly stepped back and waited for the water to turn hot. She peeked behind her shoulder to look at Bucky, as promised he was facing slightly away from her, still with his arms crossed but his stare was fixed at the ceiling, he didn't even look down when she turned her head.

The splatter of water began to finally feel warm and she stepped into the spray, a small whimper of pleasure left her mouth. The feeling of warm water cascading down her body was exquisite. She lathered up the soap and began quickly washing her body and her hair. As the water washed away the soap she could see the grime disappear into the drain.

For the first time since she had come here, she finally relaxed, just a fraction and that fraction was the only thing stopping her going insane. When she finally felt like she cleaned every crevice of her body and got the soap out of her hair, she turned the shower off. As she stepped towards the bench to grab the towel, the cold air hit her like a ton of bricks and made her very dizzy. Erin practically fell into the bench, naked, wet and holding her head just praying that she wouldn't faint. She sat on the edge trying to regain her senses when she felt the towel being wrapped around her shoulders providing some much needed warmth "Thank you" she whispered.

His voice was low as he responded "Have you been eating the food I left you?" In all honesty she hadn't, partly due to her training, the fear of being poisoned but mostly due to stress "Not all of it" she responded quietly. She didn't want to anger him.

Bucky stepped to the front of Erin, she wasn't completely covered but she honestly couldn't care less at this point, she was just trying not to black out. He knelt down in front of her and grabbed the towel from her shoulders, and to her shock he began drying her off.

"You need to eat more" he grunted as he dried her arms, legs and reached round to dry her back, the proximity between them was almost intimate if they were in any other situation. He was being so gentle that it nearly made her cry. She looked carefully at his face, he held an almost neutral expression except for the concentration on his current task. His strong jaw line, blue eyes and long hair made for a handsome man, she couldn't deny it. As he finished drying her back she let the words slip out of her mouth "Why am I here?"

She instantly regretted it as he visibly tensed up. He stopped drying her and put the towel back around her shoulders. He looked straight at her, almost sizing her up as he seemed to decide whether or not to answer her. She was still extremely aware of her nudity but she held her breath waiting for him to reply.

His vision drifted away to the floor as he became lost in thought "Because I need to know how you know me. That name, Bucky Barnes, reminds me of dreams that seem too real to not be memories. I keep being made to forget but I don't want to forget anymore" suddenly as though he felt he said too much, he stood up quickly making Erin flinch. "Get dressed" his voice full of ice cold authority, she followed his instructions and dressed as fast as she could without making herself faint.

Despite the situation, being clean and wearing clean clothes gave Erin a clearer head. It was nice to feel slightly more comfortable for a change. The jumper was too big for her but in a good way, there was a pleasant scent on the clothes that she guessed was Bucky's own smell.

She let out a long sigh, trying to make her feelings more tangible, this was so complicated she couldn't even begin to fathom how she was going to come out of this sane or alive for that matter. "Ready?" Bucky said, clearly waiting for her, she didn't want to leave the showers, purely because it wasn't her cell but she knew she had to go where he told her to "Ready" she replied.

Just as before he steered her along the corridors, a few lefts, a couple of rights but it didn't feel like that were going exactly the way back as he brought her. She started to feel uncomfortable. Erin looked behind her shoulder, almost questioningly, Bucky was staring straight ahead, hand still on her leading the way. After a few more turns he came to the front of another unlabelled door, he moved in front of her. She could hear the jingling of keys as he opened the door, did he hold keys for the whole place? That was something to make note of.

Bucky opened the door wide and walked in, she followed him through and found herself in a much bigger room, it looked not too unlike the old one she was in but she nearly gasped as she saw a proper single bed, with a mattress, a pillow and a duvet. She could only imagine the luxury of sleeping in it. Bucky moved to the other side of the room and seemed to flick a switch as the room was suddenly lit up, like her room there was a toilet but there was also a sink. In the other corner was a small wooden dresser, on top of the dresser were several clothes. It seemed like this room was being lived in and she only knew of one other person here….it must be Bucky's room.

She stood in the middle of the room, taking it all in, waiting for him to say or do something, he stood with his arms crossed, observing her and her reaction. "You'll be staying here from now on" he said.

* * *

He doesn't know why he was doing this, giving her his personal space. This was his room though that didn't mean a lot. He didn't have any personal possessions, he kept all of his weaponry somewhere else in the facility but there was a gun and machete under the bed...he needed to grab those before he left.

Something about her dragged his humanity to the forefront of his brain, even though it was kicking and screaming in the process. It brought out emotions he hadn't felt in years, genuine curiosity, fear, concern and attraction.

Once upon a time in a dream or another life, he spent a lot of his time with attractive and interesting ladies, he enjoyed their company, their smell, the way they would hold themselves, laugh at his terrible jokes and twirl their hair in their fingers. He used to love it, he had friends, even a best friend…

He shook himself out of that thought, when he delved too deeply into his faded thoughts it brought on an awful headache. He watched as she walked to the bed, he could tell she was keeping tabs on him through the corners of her eyes. She hesitantly touched the mattress before lowering herself to sit on it, she let her head fall slightly forward, closing her eyes as she did, enjoying the feeling of softness. He wanted her to be comfortable and feel safe.

Bucky tried to wrap his head around it. He was an assassin, he had killed men, women, even children. He followed his training like the soldier he was, he was completely loyal. Or he used to be. This one woman had gotten into his head, she kept bringing all these memories back, he was becoming more sure of himself they were memories. Maybe he should just kill her, get rid of the trouble.

But as he watched her, he knew he wouldn't. She had stopped caring that he was there and laid down fully on the bed, her breathing started to slow and before long she was fast asleep. He grabbed the chair next to his dresser and sat down. He just watched her sleep trying to decide what he was going to do with Miss Sinclaire.

* * *

Erin woke up with the feeling of thirst completely consuming her, she lifted her head to see the room was empty and the door was closed. The light had been left on thankfully, she looked over to the sink and luckily a glass had been left there. She got up and made her way over praying the water worked, she turned the cold tap and thanked the lords when clear water started pouring out, she grabbed the, also surprisingly clean, glass, filled it and downed it with such speed she nearly threw it straight back up. She took a deep breath, filled the glass again, walked over to the bed, sat down and took small sips, being sick on Bucky's floor was the last thing she wanted today.

As she examined the glass, she was certain it wasn't there when she first came in which means he must have left it there. She couldn't believe she fell asleep with him in the room, she completely let her guard down, she was lucky he hadn't killed her.

But why hadn't he killed her?

Erin didn't know what else to do, he was mentally unhinged, dangerous who had worse mood swings than she did on her period. She needed to make some sort of plan but she was out skilled, weaponless and just didn't have the strength to last in any sort of fight. In the deep dark corner of her subconscious kept whispering a voice, a voice that kept telling her she needed to help him, to bring Bucky back to the Captain. But she didn't know where to begin.

Then it hit her - Steve had told her so many wonderful stories about Bucky, she knew more about him than he knew about himself. But his thoughts, memories and opinions were still in there somewhere...she just had to slowly weed them out.

It would be another half a day until she saw him or that's how it felt. While she'd been waiting she drudged up every story and every fact she knew about Bucky Barnes and concocted ways of getting them into a natural conversation. She didn't know if it would work but she would maybe die trying.

When he finally came to her room or should she say his room, he unlocked the door and walked in with a small brown box. The smell of bread filled her nostrils and all thoughts of the plan momentarily left her mind. He put the box down on the dresser, turned around without looking at her and started to make his way back to the door, it was now or never.

"Wait!" Erin cried, she could hear the desperation in her voice. He froze immediately, his shoulders tensing up before turning his head slightly in her directions "What?" he answered, his voice almost a deadly whisper.

Erin got up but didn't make a move towards him "Please stay, just for a while. I'm so lonely" She knew it sounded pathetic but she needed to start making headway with him, plus in all honesty she was becoming really rather lonely.

She waited for him to react or respond and after what felt like an eternity, he turned around, grabbed the chair and sat down. He leaned back and folded his arms waiting for her to do something.

She smiled at him. She can't remember the last time she smiled but it felt really good to smile again. Bucky didn't smile back but she could see the corners of his eyes soften ever so slightly. Erin moved towards the box on the dresser, feeling Bucky's eyes follow her. In the box was bread (it was still warm, did he make this?!), some chopped up sausage wrapped in wax paper, a couple of apples, a small jar of honey and even a bar of chocolate. He was spoiling her! All the food she had so far was definitely good for a prisoner but this was almost fit for a queen. She tried to hide her excitement and failed as she lifted the chocolate up and turned round to Bucky with the biggest grin on her face, Bucky just raised a questioning eyebrow. She turned back round still smiling and put the chocolate bar back in "Thank you" she whispered.

"You're welcome" he replied, of course he could hear her, he was like Steve. Bat hearing.

She tore off a chunk of the bread and took some of the sausage out of the paper, she bit into the bread chewing it slowly, savouring every bite. It was good, the sausage was even better. She walked back to the bed with her food and sat down, carefully placing it in her lap.

"Do you know what I haven't had in ages?" She said as she took another bite of the sausage.

"What?" Bucky replied, arms still crossed lent back in his chair. His manner was almost relaxed which made putting her plan into action, just that little bit easier.

"A hot dog from Coney Island. I mean this sausage is delicious but I don't think you can beat the greasy deliciousness of the hot dogs from the carnival" she mused as she chewed.

Bucky gave a slight laugh, a sound she had never heard before but it was beautiful, it was genuine "Coney Island hot dogs… I haven't had one of those in years." Immediately Erin tensed up not knowing if going down memory lane would go badly or not. But instead Bucky just shook his head and continued "I remember going there with a beautiful girl on my arm, she was called...Dolora, I think? We got hot dogs and cotton candy, we went on the Ferris Wheel at night and I told her about the stars. Not that you could see the stars, it's New York but it worked."

Erin stared at him, astonished. She knew right at this moment she was talking to Bucky Barnes, not the Winter Soldier. She also knew this story, Steve had been there. She had to keep him talking.

"What do you mean it worked?" She raised an eyebrow suggestively with a little smile on her face, Bucky then grinned, a real grin at her before raising his own eyebrows "Well let's just say Dolora was a happy lady. I'm a gentleman, I don't kiss and tell."

Erin laughed, as well as her first smile in weeks, she laughed for the first time in what felt like forever "Oh I bet you were such a smooth talker" she accused him.

"Maybe but I bet you don't do badly with an accent like that. I bet the fellas are waiting in line" He threw back at her, the smile still ghosting his lips.

Erin tried to look affronted "Me?!" She dramatically put her hand against her chest "My accent has nothing to do with it"

"Yeah, must just be your pretty face then"

This comment left Erin lost for words, she was in the middle of her plan and it was going far better than she thought but this threw her. Were they... flirting? She tried to assess the situation as quickly as she could, I mean on one hand she was becoming an agent, she had to proceed with her plan like a professional, he had kidnapped her?! Her ultimate goal was to bring Bucky back. On the other hand… he stirred up something inside her she couldn't deny. She knew everything about him without knowing him.

Before she could stop herself she blurted out "Do you have any whisky?" He looked almost surprised "Or vodka…" she continued. She had never wanted a drink so badly, she knew it was a bad idea but to hell with it.

He had a strange look on his face, one she just couldn't place. Bucky suddenly got up without another word and left the room, locking the door behind him. Fuck, she'd blown it. She pushed too hard. She sighed and resigned herself to her bread and sausage. It was delicious but the taste was soured by her disappointment. She finished her meagre meal, went back to the box and ate an apple followed by a glass of water.

She laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling trying to come up with a way to recover from this. She felt like a teenage girl whose crush had just ghosted her and she didn't know how to deal with it.

So she did what she would have done as a teenager, she got up, went to the box and devoured the chocolate bar. As she ate she contemplated her next move. It was going so well… she had definitely been too forward. Right now he is stuck between being Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier. Talking to him earlier was like dealing with a completely different person, meeting the real man behind the assassin.

Erin was brought out her daydream by the sound of footsteps approaching the door, she panicked. She quickly stashed the rest of the chocolate bar back in the box and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She waited by the dresser as he unlocked the door, her heart pounding in her chest.

To her complete surprise and delight, Bucky had re-appeared with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a glass in the other. He gently closed the door behind him and returned to his chair, he looked at her.

'Your move.' She could practically see it in his eyes, the veiled dare. So she did what all good British girls do, she grabbed her glass and walked back over to the bed, perched herself on the edge of the bed and held her glass out for him "Please?" She asked ever so politely, giving a wry little smile. She knew this was bordering on dangerously psychotic but the adrenaline was egging her on to keep falling down the rabbit hole and seeing where she would end up.

He raised his eyebrows and smirked right back, if she wanted to play this game then he would indulge her. It had been a long time since Bucky Barnes had been this in control of himself and he was about to enjoy it for all it's worth.

He poured them half a glass each and clinked his glass with hers "Cheers" he murmured as he downed the vodka. He could see her from the clear bottom of his glass as he reached the end of his drink. She drank it back fast like a shot and brought the glass back down. She sucked in a sharp breath & shook her head. He could already see a bit of red in her cheeks. This was going to be an interesting night, he thought.


End file.
